The Challenge: In the wake of four Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) rounds in the 1980s and 1990s, leadership in the Army and the Navy were frustrated by the seeming inability to dispose of certain properties closed by BRAC or other actions. This resulted in needless Operations & Maintenance expense to the services and the frustration of potential recipients who were willing to take the land.
The Challenge: Camp Bonneville, WA, was a 3,840-acre Army firing range on the BRAC 1995 closure list. Eleven years later, the old range was still on Army property books and portions were desired by the FBI to use as a firing range. Clark County, WA, was interested in the Camp for green space and parks, since the state required a percentage of acreage to be protected from development. The Army wanted to conclude the property transfer, but had been unable to reach agreement with any party that seemed interested in the acquisition of the Camp.
The Challenge: At many closed Army bases, proposed clean-up actions threatened endangered species and essential habitat upon which they relied. Determining how to do remedial actions that met human health and safety concerns while preserving significant natural resources became a significant policy driver. Similarly, USEPA sought to understand the success of its CERCLA program from a resource standpoint.
The Challenge: The Army must close 12 major Army installations by 2011 under BRAC 2005. Eight installations required the prompt preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation in order to meet this schedule.
The Challenge: Increasing urbanization around the nation's military bases and training ranges continues to degrade military training and operational capabilities. As urbanization continues, the effects of encroachment will only worsen unless appropriate action is taken. DoD sought new tools to help it preserve training and operational capabilities at its installations and ranges.
The Challenge: McClellan Air Base in California was on the BRAC 1995 closure list. It is contaminated with low-level radiation wastes and other contaminants of concern. Eleven years later, the base is still on Air Force property books and clean up is projected to cost $1.2B and take 500 years to reach transfer standards. The Air Force was looking for solutions to expedite transfer of the base.
The Challenge: Encroachment, any non-DoD action or constraint that results in the loss of military operational capability at any military installation or land, air, or sea maneuver areas, threatens to severely restrict testing and training operations throughout the DoD, reducing operational readiness.
Corps of Engineers
The Challenge: Corps of Engineers water resources projects have largely been planned and justified on the basis of their economic benefits (i.e., cost-benefit analyses). However, new policies have been developed which call for taking social factors such as vulnerability, human well-being, and quality of life concerns into account as well. There has been little recent experience within the Corps of Engineers in dealing with these factors.
Commission Facilitated Negotiations
The Challenge: Industry, environmental community-based organizations, and California's San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) were at loggerheads over BCDC sub-tidal dredging policies, permit policies and procedures, and Clean Water Act (CWA) alternative analyses requirements, all of which constituted a major confrontation.
GSA Office of Real Property Asset Management
The Challenge: In 2005, the General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Real Property Asset Management realized that it needed to augment its staff and contractor support team with a firm that had substantial experience in facilitating disposals of contaminated federal property.
Warsaw Initiative Fund (WIF) and Partnership for Peace (PfP)
The Challenge: The Warsaw Initiative Fund (WIF), intended to support defense reform and NATO interoperability in NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries, needed support to improve its policy management, priority setting, and financial management.
The Challenge: San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (SDCRAA) was searching for a replacement for Lindbergh International Airport and among the major candidate sites were U.S. Marine Corps bases and airfields and Department of the Navy air stations. The actions threatened "catastrophic encroachment" on the bases, especially Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, which seemed to be the SDCRAA first priority. Eventually, SDCRAA placed Proposition A on the county ballot, asking voters to opine as to whether the Marine Corps should "share 3,000 of 23,000 acres" at Miramar for a vitally needed civilian replacement airport.
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton - Engagement Strategy
The Challenge: Chevron-Texaco proposed to emplace a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, a decision that would be made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) through its permitting processes. The siting of such a plant and the transit of highly explosive vessels containing LNG, posed a potentially significant disruption to the Marine Corps' ability to fulfill its training and operational mission at Camp Pendleton. The Marine Corps retained Marstel Day to design an engagement strategy that would ensure that Marine Corps operational requirements were considered and protected in any permitting process.
The Challenge: The offices of the secretaries of Defense and the Navy have multiple staffs involved in encroachment control and sustainable ranges processes. Additionally, congressional requestors routinely levy numerous reporting requirements for DoD response. Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) Land Use and Military Construction Branch (LFL) personnel were required to participate in numerous boards, committees, and working groups. Their personnel resources were insufficient to effectively process then implement actions required from the resulting multitude of requests, goals, and objectives.
