Marching to Different Drummers. Evolution of the Army's Environmental Program

摘要

Recent years have seen dramatic changes in the legal and political obligations of federal facilities to obey local, state, and federal environmental laws. Immunity from regulation is vanishing and federal agencies already dedicate significant resources to correct problems that have arisen from past activities and to ensure that existing operations are in compliance with environmental law. Since 1986, when federal facilities were placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) of the nation's worst hazardous waste sites, the Army has made dramatic progress in improving its environmental performance. It has moved forward from a near-crisis situation in which obligations were ignored or neglected and environmental funds were diverted to other uses to a time when critical environmental obligations are addressed and priority projects are funded. This progress brings the Army a new environmental challenge. Environmental performance has improved, but the costs of environmental protection have been steadily rising in the face of a declining Army budget. As with any program that has grown rapidly, efficiency must eventually become a central concern. The measurement of efficiency, however, is complicated by scientific and technical uncertalnty and the way in which environmental requirements are formulated. Because requirements are established by outside regulatory forces, it is extremely difficult to know if growing costs are a sign of inefficiency or of growing and more complex requirements. Costs may be rising even as the Army improves the effectiveness and efficiency of its program. We also note that the Department of Defense (DoD) policy is changing. Both military and political leaders see an increased desire to take a leadership role in environmental policy. For DoD to do this there must be a more efficient response to local and regional mandates.