Reading between the lines, advocates for saving Hangar One at Moffett Field are calling a letter from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo to Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter a “severe indictment” of the Navy’s actions regarding the historic structure, which the Navy may still demolish.
The letter, sent Aug. 10, commends the Navy’s decision in July to reevaluate its options for cleaning up the toxic siding on Hangar One and to come back to the public for additional comment.
But since July the Navy has not commented on its process, saying only that the public will be notified when a new environmental evaluation and cost analysis is finished. Eshoo calls for “a fully transparent and open process,” in the letter, something Hangar One advocates have been seeking for years.
Also in the letter, Eshoo prods the Navy for answers to 11 pointed questions. She asks why the Navy’s estimate for demolition for the Hangar is $19 million lower than NASA’s estimate, which is thought to be more comprehensive.
She asks when the new environmental and cost analysis will be released, what new information will be made public, and whether the public will get another 60-day public comment period. And she asks what criteria will be used for selecting an option for cleanup, how much the public will be informed of the options, and whether the Navy is on track to complete the project in a timely manner.
“Others have noted that the Navy did not address how it will protect the public from exposure to contamination during the cleanup,” she writes. “Will the Navy respond to these concerns in the new evaluation and will the Navy propose any new alternatives to address these concerns?”
Navy spokesman Rick Weissenborn said in July that the environmental evaluation and cost analysis were pulled in July because of public comments, which delighted preservationists. He also said new information from contractors confirmed that demolition would be cheaper than restoration, but that the difference between the two costs was lower than previously thought.
Neither the Navy nor Eshoo’s office returned calls about the letter by press time. Its full text can be read at www.nuqu.org.
A Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 14 at City Hall. Hangar One has an unusually short five minutes reserved for it on the agenda.
E-mail Daniel DeBolt at ddebolt@mv-voice.com
