Anniston Star
January 14, 2003

Army denies withholding questions about McClellan's reclamation from the public

By Sara Clemence
Star Staff Writer
01-14-2003

McClellan's environmental board challenged the Army at a Monday night meeting, asking pointed questions about the speed and quality of environmental reports.

of the Restoration Advisory Board, the community group that advises on base cleanup, focused on potentially dangerous unexploded munitions that litter the closed fort.

They also asked whether the Army removes controversial information when it pre-screens presentations intended for the Restoration Advisory Board.

Army representatives denied they were trying to keep any information from the public.

Restoration Advisory Board member Pete Conroy asked Army officials why the board was not told about several dozen questions concerning an Army report on the amounts and whereabouts of unexploded ordinance in a northern portion of the fort. Since the base closed, the land has been reserved for industrial use.

Conroy distributed a letter from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management that posed nearly 70 questions about the Army's report.

"Right or wrong, our state environmental agency has serious questions as to how valid the Army's assessment has been," Conroy said.

Glynn Ryan, site manager for the fort transition force, said that the Army was doing exactly what it was supposed to. The drafts are not made public because there may be many versions, and a lot of back-and-forth between the Army and environmental regulators.

"The Army's not trying to withhold any documents from anybody," said Ron Levy, environmental coordinator for the Army transition force. "We're working with the regulatory agencies hand in hand.

"I believe that we ­ the Army and the regulatory agencies ­ will come to an agreement on what's most protective for the public," Levy added later.

Alabama Department of Environmental Management representative Phillip Stroud said the questions in the letter were meant to check the methodology of Army's conclusions. Doing so was an important role of the state agency, Stroud said.

"Trust, but verify," he said.

Unexploded ordnance is a serious issue, as it can injure or kill if not dealt with properly, he said.

Weaver Mayor Ed Kimbrough, who is on the advisory board, raised concerns about the Army's policy of screening presentations before they are given to the board.

"In pre-briefing, has there ever been a request to remove any information that might be controversial?" Kimbrough said.

Ryan said the purpose of the pre-briefings was not to withhold information, but to make sure that contractors put things in a way the Restoration Advisory Board could understand.

He agreed to invite board members to the screenings in the future.

Conroy also pressed the Army on when it planned to deliver the final version of the report, which the Restoration Advisory Board has been waiting for since March or April.

"The faster we have a clean base, the faster we can move toward using it and making jobs and getting tourists out there," Conroy said.

An Army contractor said they were working on the report, but did not know when it would be completed.