After a fire on January 29 at Arkansas’s Fort Chaffee burned over 100 acres and more than 150 WWII-era buildings, area officials asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare portions of the closed base a disaster area, which would make federal funds available for the cleanup. The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority says they will appeal the decision. Although the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality found that asbestos contamination at the site ranged from 3 to 65 percent, see related story, it has been classified as “special” so it could be placed in the regular landfill. U.S. Rep. John Boozman says that, to support an appeal, the group needs more specific information on the cleanup required, the levels of toxicity at the site and whether the asbestos will need to be put in a secure location. Current cleanup estimates are as high as $4.6 million. Boozman has also suggested working with the EPA to look for other options for funding a cleanup. Although Fort Chaffee is quiet now, it was the site of Elvis Presley’s famous military haircut. Fort Chaffee also housed Cuban refugees in 1980 and Katrina refugees in 2005.
For the full story, go to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Southwest Times Record.
