Wampum

The Indian Navy is opened a deep-water port at Karwar Binaga Bay, south of Goa. Far from Pakistan, close to the Maldives, and on the Arabian Sea. INS Kadamba will be the biggest naval base east of the Suez. Meanwhile, the US is turning blue water brown ...

D. BRAC Excess Property Environmental Considerations

Pollution is the norm. First procedural step is creating a BRAC Cleanup Team (BCT), consisting of the site's BRAC Environmental Coordinator and reps from the Federal EPA regional office and State(s) environmental agencies. The BCT works up a Base Cleanup Plan (BCP) and implements the BCP for the site, sharing info with the LRA and matching cleanup to planned use. A Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) must be established, composed of agency and community representatives [ebw: clarify] to ensure enviro remediation meets community expectations [ebw: clarify].

The BEC reviews the base land holdings and determins whether or not parcels are contaminated as part of the base's Environmental Baseline Survey (EBS). The determination of uncontaminated must be complete no later than 18 months after the date of approval of base closure using the Community Environmental Response Facilitation Act (CERFA) criteria to determin whether a property is eligible for a Finding of Suitability to Transfer (FOST). With some exceptions a parcel cannot be conveyed by deed unless the Military Department makes a FOST.

In addition to the site-specific determinations of land contamination, the Military Department is required to prepare NEPA documentation analyzing the environmental consequences of land disposal actions and consideration of alternatives. The NEPA analysis must be completed no later than 12 months after the LRA submits its adopted base redevelopment plan. The NEPA analysis will either result in an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or in an EA that identifies the need for an Evnironmental Impact Statement (EIS) and a corresponding Record of Decision (ROD).

Exception: Federal to Federal (F2F) transfers may take place prior to the completion of remediation required under the Comprehensive Environmental Reposnse, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), but specific reporting of hazardous substances and required remediation and certification of no polychlorinated biphenyl must be part of the NOA. F2F transfers may take place prior to completion of the NEPA process. Indian Tribes acquiring BRAC property through a F2F excess property transfer must be aware of the status of environmental conditions documentation by the transfering Military Department.

II. The Fee-to-Trust Process Should be Revised to Accommodate BRAC Property Transfers.

This section is pretty well known to FIL practitioners. The point is that there is duplication of process steps, and Mescalero Apache should guide the BIA in revising BIA Fee-to-Trust process for real property originating under the BRAC process, and there should be a "Fast-Track BRAC" process under the revised sec. 151 BIA process.

In summary, a "Fast-Track BRAC" process should:

• eliminate a 30 day comment period for consultation with state and local governments as the LRA has been involved already and no issues of tax loss or jurisdictional problems areise because it is a Federal-to-Federal transfer,


• eliminate requirements for potential land use or environmental problem documentation as these issues are considered in the BIA land application, considered by the Military Department and the LRA prior to transfer, and the BRAC environmental documentation should exceed the Level I/NEPA doc req. of 25 C.F.R. sec. 151.10(h),
  
• eliminate the requirement for consideration of "tribal need" for the property because the BIA has already substantiated that need to the Military Department and the OMB in the excess acquisition process,


• eliminate the heightened scrutiny for "business purposes" (25 C.F.R. sec 151.11(c)), since the BRAC policy goal is economic redevelopment and not conditioned upon non-tribal applicats.

This concludes "Fishing in BRACish waters". Tribes, start your typewriters!!!

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