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<br /> <br />D About Spencer Fane <br />o Attorneys <br />D Practice Groups <br />o Recruiting <br />o Newsroom <br />DPublications <br />o Events Calendar <br />o Contact Us <br /> <br />( <br />New and Exciting Opportunities at Former Military <br />Bases <br /> <br />By:Michael P. COlllodeca <br /> <br />Practice Group(s):Environmental <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />In the coming years, more and more communities will be confronted <br />with the challenge of a closing military base. The Bush Administration <br />has repeatedly expressed its support for another round of base closures. <br />Defense Secretary Rumsfeld recently testified before the House Armed <br />Services Committee that "we [Department of Defense] are carrying <br />something like 20 to 25 percent more base structure than we need for <br />our force structure."r Additionally, the climate on Capitol HilI is likely <br />to be more supportive for additional base closures than at any time in <br />the last five years.2 <br />To achieve the optimum reuse potential of every closing or realigning <br />base, local communities must understand the basic workings of the <br />base reuse process. The base reuse process is impacted by a number of <br />federal real property and environmental laws and regulations, along <br />with volumes of implementing guidance. Some of the laws, such as the <br />Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and <br />Realignment Act of 1988 ("BCRA 88") and the Defense Base Closure <br />and Realignment Act of 1990 ("DBCRA 90"), were specifically <br />enacted to govern certain parts of the base reuse process. Thc <br />remainder, however, were enacted to address more routine government <br />property transactions or other specific problems such as environmental <br />cleanup. <br /> <br />Local communities should also be aware of significant improvements <br />to the process that facilitate both the early transfer of the property and <br />increased economic development. In the past, property transfer and <br />any potential economic development were often delayed due to (I) the <br />piecemeal transfer of the property; and (2) time consuming <br />environmental cleanups. But new tools such as the early transfer <br />authority (ETA), the no-cost economic development conveyance (no- <br />cost EDC), the leaseback authority, the judicious use ofIand use <br />controls (LUCs), and the implementation of the Brooks city-base <br />concept provide new and exciting opportunities for local communities <br />at former military bases. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />HOW TO SUCCESSFULL Y NAVIGATE THE BASE REUSE <br />PROCESS <br /> <br />Once a base has been approved for closure or realignment, the local <br />community must be prepared to establish a local reuse authority <br />