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A surprise push by U.S. Navy officials to disband Moffett Field’s lone environmental watchdog panel has generated plenty of public opposition — now including Silicon Valley’s political heavyweights.
U.S. Reps Anna Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren and Ro Khanna signed a joint letter urging the Navy to hold off on dissolving the Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board (RAB).
“We write to express our strong opposition to the Navy’s proposal to adjourn the Moffett Field RAB,” the congressional letter states. “No successor RAB has been formed to ensure public oversight and accountability if the Navy moves forward.”
Established in 1994, the RAB monitors cleanup of the toxic groundwater left after the Navy exited Moffett Field as part of the base closure. More recently, the group has also been involved in preserving Hangar One and tracking development at Moffett Field by Google affiliates.
On May 11, Navy officials announced they were taking the first step toward disbanding the RAB by starting a 30-day public comment period.
The new congressional letter echoes the recommendation made by RAB members that the public comment period should be extended to six months at least. RAB members hope to use that time to create some kind of new successor panel.
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Is this the first this has been reported? 20 days into the 30 day comment period? It would be nice to include in the article the information about HOW to comment.
Community participation in decision-making at contaminated federal facilities is needed – the Navy should reinstate the group. Thank you MV Voice for keeping us up to date.
Deprioritizing environmental health concerns is a pillar of the Trump administration. It’s a shame that voters’ stupidity will end up killing this planet.
This issue was first reported on May 12, the day after the meeting that revealed the Navy was starting the Adjournment process. The RAB has crafted the following letter to be sent to the Navy concerning the “Adjournment” of the RAB. If you would like to have your name included as a signatory please let me know and we will include your name when we send it to the Navy. Congresswoman Eshoo’s staff did an amazing job in pulling together a joint letter to the Acting Secretary of the Navy in a very short period of time.
“June ?, 2017
James B. Sullivan
BRAC Environmental Coordinator
Moffett Field Naval Air Station
Navy BRAC PMO West
33000 Nixie Way, Building 50 Suite 207
San Diego CA 92147-5116
Dear Sir:
At the May 11 meeting of the Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board (RAB), you announced the Navy’s plan to adjourn the Moffett Field RAB and sought public comment on this proposal. This letter represents a consensus response from community members of the Moffett RAB as well as other members of our community.
The RAB Rule, 32 CFR Part 202, makes it clear that Installation Commanders, including BRAC Environmental Coordinators, may consider “adjourning”—that is, terminating—a RAB when the environmental decision-making of the Defense component at that facility is concluded.
However, the Navy’s work at Moffett Field is far from over. More than two decades after closure and property transfer, the Navy is still engaged in active investigation and decision-making that merits oversight by members of the local community.
We recognize that the Navy is not the only party responsible for conducting cleanup activities at Moffett and the regional groundwater plume. We look forward to the formation of a shared community advisory board, in which the Navy participates regularly along with other agencies and private parties, but until that board is in place it is essential that the Navy’s RAB continue to provide a forum for community engagement. Over the next few months, the RAB will work with the regulatory agencies, the responsible parties, local municipalities and the various tenant organizations at Moffett Field to craft a suitable organizational mechanism to allow the important work of the Moffett Field RAB to move into the future.
In the early 1990s the Moffett Naval Air Station’s Technical Review Committee served as the national model for the formation of hundreds of RABs and other advisory boards. Please work with our community to make Moffett a national model for continuing community engagement at current and former military facilities as the role of the Defense component in the overall environmental program declines.”
If you would like your name included please let me know along with any organizational affiliation you would like to include. Please email at gregumv@gmail.com. You can also send comments directly to James Sullivan at james.b.sullivan2@navy.mil.
Thanks for your support.
Greg Unangst
Community Co-Chair
Moffett Federal Field RAB