DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1999 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON READINESS AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT, Washington, DC. LAND WITHDRAWALS AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMS The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:30 p.m. in room SR-232A, Senator James M. Inhofe (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Committee members present: Senators Inhofe, McCain, and Robb. Committee staff member present: Ann M. Mittermeyer, assistant counsel. Professional staff member present: Cord A. Sterling. Minority staff member present: Peter K. Levine, minority counsel; and Michael J. McCord, professional staff member. Staff assistant present: Sharen E. Reaves. Committee members' assistants present: Christopher J. Paul, assistant to Senator McCain; Gregory McCarthy, assistant to Senator Inhofe; G. Wayne Glass, assistant to Senator Bingaman; and William G. Owens, assistant to Senator Robb. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JAMES M. INHOFE, Senator INHOFE. The meeting will come to order. Because of the number of people that we have here today and the seriousness of the issue and the fact that this can only last for 2 hours, we are going to go ahead and start right now. Senator Reid, I think before I do an opening statement I will let you go ahead and get started if you would like. Would you like to do that? Senator REID. I'm happy to listen to your opening statement, Mr. Chairman. Senator INHOFE. Then let us go ahead and start. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support is meeting to review the Department of Defense's environmental programs and the renewal of the withdrawal of 7.2 million acres of public lands for military uses related to six premier training ranges. I want to welcome all the witnesses in the first panel. We will be looking forward to hearing a statement by both Senator Reid and Senator Bryan on range withdrawals. Panel two will address environmental program issues and the status of range withdrawals within the administration, and panel three will testify about the operational implications of the renewal of the withdrawals. I know that we have a number of you who are here on the third panel who have come long distances, and so we are going to try to move this along so that we can have adequate time for your testimony. I would like to hear about the progress made in the renewal of these major range withdrawals and how quality military training will be sustained. I want to ensure that the military activities at these ranges will not be undermined by land uses that conflict with training requirements. That is my major concern, because of some of the problems that we have had lately in our training, and that is very significant. It is my hope that both the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior are working to preserve current and future operations at these military ranges, which are an essential aspect of our national defense training base. In addition, I would like to hear from, I think, not just panel two, Sherri, but also panel three, concerning the overall impact of endangered species on training activities. I would like to hear about an update on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) order to suspend training at the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR), the funding of building demolition and removal from the former Clinton Sherman Air Force Base, and the impact of the EPA proposed rule for sulphur levels. Finally, questions for the record should be submitted within 48 hours of the hearing. At this time we will go ahead and start with you, Senator Reid, and I am sure Senator Bryan will be coming along shortly. STATEMENT OF HON. HARRY REID, U.S. SENATOR FROM Senator REID. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. The Nation's premier training sites for both the Navy and the Air Force are both located in Nevada. Most of the men and women now flying in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Iraq trained either at Nellis or Fallon. I support renewing both bases. The Defense Department has been an important partner in Nevada's history this past 50 years. The relationship has been mutually beneficial. The people of Nevada have benefited from the military's presence and the military has had access to land ideal to its missions. I look forward to continuing this relationship and assisting the men and women in our armed services in protecting the security of this Nation. Mr. Chairman, I am very proud of Nellis Air Force Base. Nellis Air Force Base is named after Bill Nellis, who was born and raised in the town of Searchlight, Nevada, my home town, where I also was born and raised. He is really an American hero. I recently fin ished a history of my home town of Searchlight and I will make sure you get a copy so you can read the chapter that I have on Bill Nellis. He is truly an American patriot. He joined the Air Force-I am sorry, the Army; at the time it was the Army Air Corps-when he did not have to. He was older than he should have been. Three children, sacrificed his life, but for a good cause. So I am very proud it is Nellis Air Force Base. We in Las Vegas and Clark County and the State of Nevada are very proud of the work that is being done at Nellis. Fallon, we also feel good about our relationship with the Navy at Fallon Naval Air Station. I do not have the personal relationship because of my being identified with Searchlight that I do with Fallon, but the Navy has been training pilots at Fallon since 1942 when it prepared for an anticipated Japanese attack on the West Coast in World War II. Since then it has become the premier training site for Navy and Marine Corps pilots and ground crews. Today Fallon includes the Naval Strike Warfare Center, the primary authority for integrating strike warfare tactical development and training, the Navy Fighter Weapons School, or "Top Gun" as we know it, the premier tactics training school for combat pilots, and the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons Schools, or Top Dome. Almost 3,000 permanent employees and 1,500 visiting personnel work there on a daily basis. Each year an average of 22,000 military personnel pass through its various training courses. In 1998 its total economic impact exceeded $125 million. But I do have concerns. I support, as I have indicated, both ranges. The civilian population areas around the bases have changed over the past 15 years. Nevada has almost twice as many residents as it did only 15 years ago. Southern Nevada has been the fastest growing region in the country for 6 straight years and promise to continue this same pattern. We need to carefully consider the growth of the State when we talk about these tracts of land being Reserved for the exclusive use of the military. I repeat, I do not have any objection to the bases being there. I support them 100 percent. But as you will see, I am not in favor of withdrawing for an unlimited period of time. Fallon is seeking to withdraw an additional 127,000 acres of land as a buffer zone around its existing borders for safety and training purposes. I am concerned about the impact that removing more land will have on the local economy. In return, I say, Mr. Chairman, for sacrificing more land, the people of Nevada should get something in return. The air base uses a lot of water. Maybe some of their water. They are talking about doing a golf course. Maybe they do not need to do the golf course. Water is really at a premier in that part of the State, and we need to have something in return for giving up the 127,000 acres. There must be some way the Navy mitigates the additional land that they are going to take. I also have some concerns about Nellis AFB. First, I am concerned about the impact of the base on the surrounding natural resources. I am pleased that the Keystone Dialogue allowed many defense viewpoints into the process, including mining interests, environmentalists, local community leaders. I believe the findings and recommendations of the dialogue should be incorporated into the renewal legislation and that the Air Force should establish priorities for funding these recommendations. My second concern is that land that the base no longer needs be returned to the public. There are areas in the Nellis Gunnery Range, as we refer to it, that are not used. Those should be returned for recreational purposes. Nellis Bombing and Gunnery Range alone encompasses more than 3 million acres of land. 30 to 35 acres along the western border of Nellis include the Towacha mining district and I believe should be reopened for mineral exploration. It would have no impact on the Air Force mission and doing so would boost part of rural Nevada that really needs boosting. Some of the withdrawn land, particularly areas near Mud Lake, the Cowitz Range, Timber Mountain, and EC South, can be opened for concurrent use by the public without affecting the Air Force's mission. Mr. Chairman, my third concern is a large portion of Nellis includes the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Portions of the refuge are being used for air to ground gunnery and electronic warfare. These uses probably are incompatible with the wildlife refuge and this incompatibility should be addressed in the renewal legislation. We need to take a close look at this. My most serious concern is the time period for withdrawal. The Defense Department is seeking to withdraw land for Nellis for an indefinite period of time. Alternatively, it requests a withdrawal for a period longer than 15 years. I am opposed to withdrawal for anything longer than a fixed period of 15 years. I believe that 15 years will allow for adequate public review and oversight of the impact of the withdrawals on the surrounding communities, environment, and natural resources. The people of Nevada support a renewal of 15 years. If this renewal is for 15 years, we will accept it. The Nevada Assembly recently passed by a large majority a joint resolution which urges a withdrawal of no more than 15 years. Finally, history teaches that the National security situation can drastically change in 15 years. Fifteen years ago, Mr. Chairman, we were still in the grip of the Cold War and our military was aligned to face a powerful Soviet Union. Fifteen years ago no one had heard of Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin was someone that no one had heard of basically. Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Ladin, Salaam Adan, Milosevic, these are names we had not heard of. Our enemies were then Qadafi, Khomeini, Gorbachev, Noriega. Few knew of such obscure places as Kuwait, Somalia, Tiananmen Square, Oklahoma City, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo did not even exist in the minds of most of us. No one was worried about the threat of biological and chemical weapons to the extent that perhaps we are now. Över the last 15 years the principles on which our national security doctrines are based have changed and changed dramatically. Changes like these are likely to occur over the next 15 years as well. That is why I believe we have to be careful in planning for the future and not extend these bases for more than 15 years. Senator INHOFE. Thank you, Senator Reid. I have spent considerable time out at Nellis AFB and I am very familiar with it. I have watched the Red Flag exercises and it is a place to be proud of. Senator Bryan, before you came in we started right on time because we wanted to be sure that we had time to hear from all of our witnesses. We have 11 witnesses today and we have a 2-hour period of time we have to compress this in. Before we hear from Senator Bryan, we have been joined by the ranking minority Member Senator Robb. Senator Robb, do you have any statements to make? Senator ROBB. Mr. Chairman, I think I will withhold. I apologize for arriving late, I came over from a Seapower Subcommittee hearing which is taking place at the same time. But in view of the fact that we have the two distinguished colleagues, I think it is entirely appropriate that we hear from them and, so as not to delay them any longer, I would like to make my statement as soon as they complete. Senator REID. We are happy that a Marine is giving the Air Force its fair share of time. Senator INHOFE. Senator Bryan. STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD H. BRYAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA Senator BRYAN. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Let me preface my comments by apologizing for running a little late. I too was coming from another hearing and I apologize. I understand the time constraints. Let me just say as a prefacing comment, we do not have a specific piece of legislation before us, so my comments, much as Senator Reid's, are offered in terms of our philosophical views on what we are able to support. I want to thank you for providing the two of us the opportunity to testify today. Like many other States, Nevada has a proud history of supporting our national defense effort. The wide open spaces that define the geography of Nevada have served the air combat training needs of the Department of Defense for many decades. The training ranges of Nellis Air Force Base and the Naval Air Station Fallon are unique assets that have provided our Nation's combat pilots with a realistic combat environment to perfect their skills. I, like most Nevadans, take pride in the fact that there are no other facilities in the country where this training could be conducted. As a former State attorney general, governor, as a member of this committee, I have had the opportunity to work very closely with both the Navy and the Air Force on a variety of issues affecting Nellis Air Force Base and the Naval Air Station at Fallon. As governor I supported the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 and more recently I have worked with the Air Force to effectuate the withdrawal of the Whiteside safety and the security buffer and with the Navy on efforts to reduce jet noise associated with Bravo 16. I am currently working with the Air Force and with BLM on a land exchange that will provide a necessary buffer between Nellis |