Continuing BRAC fight in PA

from today's GlobeSt

UPDATE Last updated: May 2, 2007 07:47am

Navy Shoots Down Willow Grove Proposal
By Marita Thomas

"WILLOW GROVE, PA-A complicated deal that would have ultimately put excess Navy property at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve base in the hands of the state has come apart. It called for the Navy to transfer the base to the Air Force, which would lease it to the commonwealth short term as a joint interagency base.

In 2005, the BRAC Commission designated Willow Grove for closure. The proposal for a joint interagency base, as GlobeSt.com previously reported, was developed by Gov. Ed Rendell and Pennsylvania Congressional representatives and approved by Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne.

Under the proposal, during the lease-term, the state would work to attract governmental users, such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Association, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Once that was accomplished, the Air Force would transfer base ownership to the state.

The Navy, however, notified the governor that it has rejected the Air Force’s request for a military to military transfer of the property. Gen. Jessica Right, adjutant general of the Pennsylvania National Guard, tells GlobeSt.com, “Under BRAC Commission law, the commonwealth could not get Willow Grove, but mil-to-mil transfers are possible under BRAC law. We are extremely disappointed that the Navy has turned down this proposal.”

Willow Grove is one of few bases that houses both US military and state National Guard." ...


for complete story see: http://www.globest.com/news/897_897/philadelphia/160262-1.html