Directorate
of Environmental Compliance and Management
1638 Elwell Street, Building 6236
Fort Carson, Colorado80913-4000
Dear
NEPA Coordinator:
The
world has changed in significantly since 2007 when the "Grow the
Army" concept was first introduced.We are now anticipating the withdrawal of troops from
Iraq within the next 16 months.In addition,
the U.S. economy has become weak. In light of these new developments,
which were not in the minds of planners when they formulated the
Grow the Army plan, the Environmental Impact Statement for Implementation
of Fort Carson Grow the Army Stationing Decisions should be reconsidered,
and a Record of Decision, (ROD) should be withheld until a review
of these new developments has been undertaken and a determination
has been made as to whether the Grow the Army initiative is still
appropriate.
The
"Grow The Army" idea was introduced by former President Bush in
his 2007 State of the Union speech, when the war in Iraq was at
its peak, from drawing to a close.He
said, "One of the first steps we can take together is to add to
the ranks of our military — so that the American Armed Forces
are ready for all the challenges ahead. Tonight I ask the Congress
to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine
Corps by 92,000 in the next five years." U.S. casualties during
the preceding month had been the third highest of the war.In his speech Bush proposed what has come to be known as
"the surge.""On this day, at this hour,
it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle…
"So we are deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional
soldiers and Marines to Iraq."
Today,
rather than planning to send more troops to Iraq, the U.S. military
is beginning to plan for the orderly withdrawal of troops and anticipating
the return of thousands of personnel to their home stations.
In
former President Bush's 2007 State of the Union Address he described
the economy in very positive terms. "A future of hope and opportunity
begins with a growing economy — and that is what we have.
We are now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth
— a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs ... so
far. Unemployment is low, inflation is low, and wages are rising."
On the day of his speech the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at
12533.8.For the past several months
it has hovered around 8000. The unemployment rate at the time that
he proposed what has become known as, "Grow the Army" was at 4.7%.
It is now 7.6%.
These
new developments should be taken into consideration.The Record of Decision on the FEIS for the Fort Carson Grow
the Army should be put on hold.
I wish to revise my earlier comments on the Grow the Army EIS.
In the several months since I made my initial comments the facts
on the ground have changed dramatically. Some of the very
worst news has come in only the last two weeks. The
result is that several of the assumptions underlying the document
are now null and void.
Page
E-1 at line 3 states: "The Army identified the
need to increase its overall size while continuing to restructure
its forces, in order to meet increased national security and defense
requirements, while maintaining a sustainable balance
between training readiness and operational mission requirements."
Comment: The combination of the election of a new
president with new policies and the downward spiral of the national
economy makes this statement invalid. The rapid withdrawal
of more than 100,000 troops from Iraq coupled with new diplomatic
initiatives has undermined the argument of needing to
increase the overall size of the Army and the condition
of the national economy will not allow the country to sustain
this added $70 billion in annual costs to pay for the expansion.
The facts
on the ground locally undermine the validity of another conclusion
of the EIS. On page E-10 at line 32
we find the following assertion: " The Economic Impact Forecast
System (EIFS) analyses indicated that the Proposed Action will
provide no major adverse socioeconomic effects in the Region of
Influence (El Paso, Fremont, and Pueblo counties)."
Comment: No one making an economic forecast
in the early fall could possibly have foreseen what was going
to happen in the months ahead here or in the country as a
whole. Those projections have to be revised, starting
over from scratch. The local economy in El Paso County is
in free fall. Both the city of Colorado Springs and El Paso
County are facing unprecedented shortfalls in revenue which have resulted
in cuts in vital public programs. This is in spite
of a building boom at Fort Carson related to earlier expansion
needs. A series of town hall meetings sponsored by a local
newspaper (including one on February 6) have disclosed that there
is already a great strain being placed on the social service
sector because of the special problems related to hosting Army
troops with combat related problems.
Undersecretary Eastin with Las Animas
County Commisioners pt1
Undersecretary Eastin with Las Animas
County Commisioners pt2
This
is a news report of the stakeholder boycott of the latest
Army scam to do scoping hearings for 2 more brigades at
Fort Carson, which will automatically lead to attempts to
take more land to expand the PCMS, which the Army is still
denying, because it is against the law for them to spend
any money on expansion.
Army
officials announced scoping hearings to discuss bringing
additional troops to Fort Carson but said the hearings have
nothing to do with the proposed expansion of the PCMS. The
communities of Southeastern Colorado know this is not true
and that the two issues are undeniably linked.
"The
Army knows that a majority of Coloradans, a majority of
state lawmakers and a majority of federal lawmakers oppose
the expansion," said PCEOC President Lon Robertson. "By
excluding any discussion of PCMS from the scoping hearings,
Army officials are attempting to avoid a difficult subject
and skirt federal law."
In
2007, Congress passed and the President signed into law
a military appropriations bill which outlawed all funding
on the proposed expansion of the PCMS.
"If
the Army held a hearing on expanding the site, they'd violate
the law so instead, they are pretending that increasing
the force at Fort Carson will have no impact," Robertson
said. "In reality, if they get more brigades at Fort Carson,
we know they will turn around and demand more acreage on
which to train them.
"And
the real question is why won't the Army take no for an answer?"
Robertson said. "This has been dragging on too long and
even the threat of expansion is having devastating effects
on our communities and economy."
The
Army is behaving lawlessly and now it seems they don't even
follow their own guidelines set by the Base Realignment
and Closure Commission (BRACC). The additional troops cited
in this latest effort completely exceed the numbers stated
in the 2005 BRACC report.
The
Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, or PCEOC, is
a broad-based coalition representing communities across
Southern Colorado in their opposition to the proposed military
expansion. PCEOC members include business owners, teachers,
students, elected officials, ranchers, environmentalists
and many others.
The
coalition is united in its opposition to any expansion of
PCMS. No funding, no expansion.
Wes McKinley horseback ride with legislators
Salazar Town Hall News coverage in Colorado Springs
Army update of the new map
Army releases the new map
New information of Apishapa Canyon and west of 350 in the new target zone
Documentary by Mark Lewis
Governor Ritter signs the PCMS Eminent Domain bill
Doug Holdread Powerpoint pt. 1
Doug Holdread pt. 2
Jen Caltrider Documentary
Expansion Opposition Coalition slideshow
The
Army is planning on expanding their Pinon Canyon tank/arms maneuver
site in Colorado by upwards of 5.5 million acres, destroying habitat,
wildlife, livelihoods and the economies of rural America.
We need everyone to work against this land
grab attempt.
(Click
here for a leaked Army document showing that
in the Army's official After Action Report from the Iraq War, the training
at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin was found to be the reason
for success, (no mention of any need for the PCMS) and in fact, the solution
to one problem was found to be a result of NOT going to the NTC at Fort
Irwin)
Yesterday's approval of HB 1069
by the Colorado Senate State, Veterens & Military Affairs Committee
sends the bill to the floor of the Senate in the immediate future.
Maybe in the next two weeks....... we'll keep everyone posted!
A big thank you to Rep McKinley
and Senator Kester, to those that made the drives and attended the hearing along
with everyone of you that have been sending letters or making calls of
support to our legislators.
Don't forget to send thank yous
to our Senators that voted in favor (below) and start thinking about sending
more e-mails and letters and making phone calls to the rest of the Senate!
Pinon Canyon.com
INDY cover story
on Army's Eminent Domain expansion of the PCMS