This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as a public service of the RAND Corporation. 6 Jump down to document Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore RAND Arroyo Center View document details This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non- commercial use only. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents. Limited Electronic Distribution Rights For More Information CHILD POLICY CIVIL JUSTICE EDUCATIO N ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT HEALTH AND HEALTH CAR E INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR S NATIONAL SECURIT Y POPULATION AND AGIN G PUBLIC SAFETY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SUBSTANCE ABUSE TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. Purchase this document Browse Books & Publications Make a charitable contribution Support RAND This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono - graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Jacqueline MacDonald Debra Knopman Noreen Clancy Jimmie McEver Henry Willis Prepared for the United States Army Approved for public release; distribution unlimited Transferring Army BRAC Lands Contai ning Unexploded Ordnance Lessons Learned and Future Options The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2004 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2004 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 201 North Craig Street, Suite 202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1516 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: order@rand.org Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance : Lessons Learned and Future Options / Jacqueline MacDonald [et al.]. p. cm. “MG-199.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3636-X (pbk.) 1. Military base closures—United States. 2. Unexploded ordnance—United States. 3. United States. Army—Facilities. I. MacDonald, Jacqueline. UA26.A2C38 2004 355.7'9'0973—dc22 2004014493 The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Army under Contract No. DASW01-01-C-0003. iii Preface The Department of Defense is now in the planning stages of the fifth round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) actions, known as BRAC 2005. The Army, along with the other services, is initiating its screening process to identify installations for possible realignment or closure. In the previous four rounds, the BRAC process has partially succeeded—albeit slowly—in transferring most lands on installations slated for disposal. However, lands containing unexploded ordnance left over from military training have proved particularly difficult and costly to transfer, and, with a few exceptions, little progress has been made. RAND Arroyo Center was asked by the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management to undertake two tasks: (1) identify and assess obstacles to disposing of excess Army lands that contain unex- ploded ordnance, and (2) identify innovative options for the disposal of these lands. Using a case study approach and a survey of individu- als associated with selected BRAC installations contaminated with unexploded ordnance, Arroyo explored the probable sources of delay as well as sources of support in transferring land containing unex- ploded ordnance. We then considered actions the Army could take to overcome barriers to transfer. We also considered several alternative organizational approaches to dealing with these lands, based on our own findings and other published assessments. It is important to note that these data are current through May 2003. Additional land transfers have been executed by the Army BRAC office subsequent to that date. iv Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance This research was carried out in RAND Arroyo Center’s Mili- tary Logistics program. RAND Arroyo Center, part of the RAND Corporation, is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the United States Army. For more information on RAND Arroyo Center, contact the Director of Operations (telephone 310-393-0411, extension 6419; FAX 310-451-6952; e-mail Marcy_Agmon@rand.org), or visit Ar- royo’s web site at http://www.rand.org/ard/. v Contents Preface iii Figures ix Tables xi Summary xiii Acknowledgments xxi Abbreviations xxiii CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 BRAC Selection Process 3 Current Army Process for Transferring Land 5 Liability Issues Associated with UXO 8 How This Report Is Organized 9 CHAPTER TWO Fate of Army UXO Land from Previous BRAC Rounds 11 Transfer Status of Army BRAC Land 12 Amount of Army BRAC Acreage Affected by UXO 15 Efficiency of Non-UXO Transfers 16 Stalled UXO Transfers 18 Case Studies: UXO Transfers Have Occurred in Special Circumstances 19 Conclusions 25 vi Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance CHAPTER THREE Factors Affecting UXO Land Transfer in Previous BRAC Rounds 27 Installations Included in Analysis 28 Possible Contributing Factors in UXO Land Transfer Delays 29 Funding 29 UXO Information 30 Remediation Standards 30 DoD Procedures 31 Liability Concerns 32 Risk Concerns 32 Regulators’ Opinions About Risk 33 Performance of UXO Detection Technology 33 Multiple but Common Causes of Delays 34 Conclusions 37 CHAPTER FOUR Options for Improving Efficiency of Future UXO Land Transfers 41 Previous Actions Taken to Expedite Transfers 41 Privatization of Cleanup Using Early Transfer 42 Uses of Early Transfer Authority for Conveying UXO- Contaminated Property 44 Privatization of Cleanup Using Conservation Conveyance 45 Three Options for Expediting UXO Land Transfers 47 Option 1: Incremental Improvements in the Current Army BRAC Process 49 Option 2: Consolidate Transactional Expertise in Army Headquarters 51 Option 3: Creation of a Federal Government Corporation (FGC) to Manage Disposition of All DoD Lands 53 Potential Disadvantages of an FGC Solution 58 How the FGC Option Would Resolve Land Transfer Barriers 59 Summary 61 CHAPTER FIVE Summary of Findings and Recommendations 63 Findings 63 Recommendations 66 Contents vii APPENDIX A. Land Transfer Data for Selected Army BRAC Installations 69 B. Exploring the Potential of the FGC Concept for BRAC Lands 75 C. Installation Survey 85 D. Fort Devens, Massachusetts: Low UXO Density, Single Redevelopment Agency, and Financial Incentives Facilitate Transfer 93 E. Fort McClellan, Alabama: Shifting Land-Use Decisions and Decisionmaker Involvement Delay Transfer 99 F. Fort Meade, Maryland: Congressional Mandates Lead to Rapid Intragovernmental Transfer 105 G. Fort Ord, California: Surprise UXO Discoveries and Lack of Standards Delay Transfer 109 H. Fort Ritchie, Maryland: Strong Partnership with Community Facilitates Land Lease, But Transfer Is Slow 117 I. Fort Sheridan, Illinois: Limited UXO Problem, High-Value Real Estate Facilitate Transfer 129 J. Jefferson Proving Ground, Indiana: Army Retains Ownership Due to UXO 133 K. The Presidio of San Francisco, California: Discovery of UXO After Transfer Illustrates Need for Improved UXO Data 143 L. Savanna Army Depot, Illinois: Lack of Standards Delays Transfer 149 References 157 [...]... addition, the Army recently began the develop- xviii Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance ment of a database of UXO characteristics on Army lands, the Army Environmental Database–Restoration (AEDB-R) More actions will be needed to improve decisionmaking related to UXO -containing lands Evidence to date shows that when UXO is present, the Army s efforts to transfer land have been problematic... from UXO; and xvi Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance • state of knowledge of effectiveness of UXO detection instruments Findings The Army has made substantial progress in transferring land without UXO and very little progress in transferring land with UXO About 61 percent of the acreage of BRAC land without UXO has been transferred to organizations outside the Army, including... is “environmental response.” xiii xiv Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance groundwater and unexploded ordnance (UXO), both of which are consequences of extensive military training and weapons testing This report focuses specifically on the effect of UXO on the land transfer process.2 While all military services have BRAC land containing UXO, Army sites account for 94 percent of... Current Army Process for Transferring Land The current Army process for transferring land to subsequent users involves many steps An outline of these procedures is shown in Figure 1.1 As indicated in the figure, the Army finds itself engaged with many diverse interests with a stake in the future use of the land, including: • local reuse authorities (LRAs), 6 Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded. .. examined the effectiveness of the BRAC process illustrated in Figure 1.1—apart from the particular circumstances of UXO occurrence—and have identified opportunities for improvement (Rubin, 2001) However, our study focuses specifically on the Army s experience to date with the transfer of BRAC land containing UXO 8 Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance Liability Issues Associated... to conduct an in-depth study of the concept of a federal government corporation that would handle all transfers of excess DoD lands with and without UXO—from former and future BRAC rounds xx Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance • Specifically for the BRAC 2005 selection process, establish procedures to ascertain the value of acquiring additional information about environmental... for this purpose Recommendations As the Army moves toward BRAC 2005, it should consider the following recommendations to overcome barriers to the transfer of existing UXO -containing BRAC land and the prospective transfer of new BRAC UXO lands: • Make incremental changes to current Army procedures, including: improving characterization of UXO occurrence on BRAC lands before decisions about reuse; clarifying... thereof—and timing of disposition of UXO -containing lands This report also explores actions and alternative approaches that the Army could take to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the BRAC process as it relates specifically to the disposition of UXO -containing lands Chapter Two presents data gathered by Arroyo on the transfer status of Army BRAC land containing UXO and describes our findings... (Mendez, Wu, et al., 2002.) 4 Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance of replacing the base in the local economy” (Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, 1995) Transitioning former base land to civilian uses is critical for economic redevelopment, and evidence gathered for this study suggests that UXO contamination has interfered with this aspect of BRAC Delays in UXO clearance... Navy BRAC land transfer process Jerry Kohns, an attorney with the Navy’s Office of General Counsel, helped us understand the general outlines of the Navy’s BRAC process Barry Steinberg, former head of the Army Environmental Law Division, also lent his insights We further benefited from the prior work and insights of our RAND colleague Ellen Pint, who also served xxi xxii Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing . develop- xviii Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance ment of a database of UXO characteristics on Army lands, the Army Environmental. is “environmental response.” xiv Transferring Army BRAC Lands Containing Unexploded Ordnance groundwater and unexploded ordnance (UXO), both of which are consequences