Army to provide $10 million to BRAC mitigations

The Army has agreed to provide $10 million over the next four years to fund mitigation measures for adverse environmental impacts related to Base Realignment and Closure actions at Fort Belvoir.

The news comes a week after the projects were among several not adopted in the BRAC Record of Decision released Aug. 10. That the ROD provided no funding for the measures prompted renewed community concern over the environmental impact of BRAC on Fort Belvoir and the surrounding region.

Installation Commander Col. Brian Lauritzen made the announcement during the BRAC Board of Advisors meeting Aug. 15 at Fort Belvoir's Officers Club.

"It was a concern to me that we need to put these measures in place," Lauritzen said. "We made our case to senior Army leadership that the money be provided. It was approved and will be added to our regular operations budget over the BRAC implementation period."

The ROD, signed, Aug. 7, paves the way for Fort Belvoir's realignment to begin. The realignment will bring an additional 19,000 personnel to the installation in Fairfax County, along with a new hospital on main post and a new facility for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on the Engineer Proving Ground by 2011.

The mitigation projects were not adopted when the ROD was signed Aug. 7, said Fort Belvoir spokesman Don Carr.

"Fort Belvoir leadership knew the mitigations were critical for the success of BRAC at Fort Belvoir and worked to obtain the funding. This is regular Army money that will be put into the Fort Belvoir installation commander's budget over the next four years to pay for these mitigations."

Carr emphasized that the Army is committed to implementing these measures because, "they reflect our consideration of the sincere concern of our neighbors, and our long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship."

Among the mitigation efforts (see table) which will now be funded is a vegetative control plan that will focus on controlling invasive plants in ecologically sensitive areas of the installation, such as kudzu in bald eagle habitats and invasive grasses in wetlands. Under the plan, the Army would treat 100 acres impacted by the vegetation and would remove the invasives from approximately 450 acres in the post's forest and wildlife corridor; its wildlife refuges; and EPG Quality Corridor.

Another measure would restore about 2.5 miles of stream habitat.

"These mitigations are now funded," said Carr, "and we're delighted to be able to share this good news with the community."

At the BOA meeting, Army officials also provided copies of a study commissioned by the Northern Virginia Workforce Investment Board that concludes the impact of BRAC on Fairfax County Schools is around 50 additional students and that the greatest impact is to Prince William County.

"I just want to go on record as acknowledging our skepticism at this late date that you're finding there is such an insignificant impact," said Fairfax County School Board member Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner.

According to the study, Prince William County will see the largest influx of students due to BRAC with 358 new students by 2011. Stafford County's school enrollment is expected to grow by nearly 145 students due to BRAC.