Environmental Impact of Base Closings, A.M.

After returning from a series of regional meetings concerning military base closures, members of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission heard testimony on the environmental impact of base closures on the area on and around the military base. The Department of Defense announced earlier in the year it would close or severely reduce operations at a number of U.S. military bases around the county to accompany a reduction in manpower of the U.S. military. Due to changes in military strategy brought on by the end of the Cold War and budget constraints, the Department of Defense plans to reduce its manpower by 25 percent by fiscal year 1996. Critics of the Department of Defense and environmental advocates expressed concern that the military bases themselves, on which toxic waste was handled and stored, would be abandoned by the Department of Defense rather than completely cleaned and made safe for habitation by humans and wildlife. The Commission sought to determine the extent of close