The Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) — the lone watchdog panel that monitors pollution and the restoration of Hangar One — is set to be disbanded after a surprise move made on Thursday night by U.S. Navy officials.
At start of the group’s first meeting of the year, Navy officials announced they were beginning the process for “adjournment,” an action that would culminate in the group being dissolved. Navy spokesman James Sullivan said his office would seek public input over the next 30 days, after which they would make a final decision on whether to disband the group.
Sullivan made it clear that he believed the RAB had served its purpose and was no longer needed.
“This doesn’t reflect on all the good work that’s been done, but rather it represents an evolution and fitting the context for which the RAB was established,” he said. “We believe that we need to adjourn the Navy RAB.”
The RAB originally formed in 1994 to monitor the cleanup of toxic groundwater contaminants left after the Navy exited Moffett Field as part of the base closure. Over the years, the group expanded its scope to preserving Hangar One and development proposed by Planetary Ventures, a Google subsidiary that has leased out huge swaths of the former airfields. For many residents in nearby cities, the group has served as a crucial liaison with Moffett’s various federal agencies
By most accounts, the Navy’s program to pump and treat the groundwater has been successful in significantly reducing the hazardous contaminants in the aquifers. Pointing to that progress, Navy officials have long made it clear they wanted to bring their involvement to a close. Recently they began signing over responsibility for their treatment systems to NASA.
Thursday’s sudden push to disband the group came as a shock to RAB members, many of whom have been watching Moffett Field’s transformation from its days as a military airfield. Board members unanimously urged the Navy to hold off on shutting down the group until some kind of new successor panel could be formed.
“The first rule of wing-walking is you don’t let go until you grab onto something else,” said RAB chair Greg Unangst. “We need to figure out how we’re going to (transition) and how we’re going to move into the future.”
In a straw vote, RAB members requested that the Navy wait six months before disbanding the group. Sullivan said he could not make any promises that the Navy would wait that long.
On Tuesday night, the Mountain View City Council indicated they would send a letter outlining their concerns over dissolving the RAB.
Public comments should be addressed to: BRAC Environmental Coordinator Mr. James B. Sullivan Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office, West 33000 Nixie Way, Building 50, Suite 207, San Diego, CA, 92147-5116 or by emailing james.b.sullivan2@navy.mil.
Email Mark Noack at mnoack@mv-voice.com
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