RE: A disinterested public

[Peter Schlesinger <pschles@starband.net>]

Chuck, 

I think there are several issues going on here. As a member of the local populace on Cape Cod and one of the few engaged in regular discussion with the military and EPA, you call us activists, I don't think its apathy. I think the military does an extraordinarily good PR job at white-washing and downplaying the issues. There is a MMR website (www.mmr.org); I'd like to see the statistics on who uses it and how often. There are regular mailings, so many that many people don't read them anymore, but IRP does make an effort to explain the issues to make the public think they are more informed. A fair amount of the public who live nearby MMR have a relationship with MMR and do not speak out against the military. Those who do speak out are few and ostracized for it too in their community, at public meetings, by other community members, and until recently by commanding officers at public speaking engagements. While we are concerned about the contamination, it is directly affecting only a small number of persons. No town has gone without water, yet. No town has had to move to bottled water, yet. The Pentagon has moved rapidly to install a 3 million gallon supply of drinking water to offer the towns, although it is unclear whether this supply will be unaffected by explosives and rocket fuel contamination. MMR is a place that most Cape Codders and visitors never see; indeed there are signs warning us to stay off the base. While there are articles about contamination in the Cape Cod Times, there are few pictures of the problems, and the military does its best to not show the public an all in one picture of where all the plumes are located. If you see a bunch of individual pictures, the eye cannot put them together. We are concerned about property taxes, food and gasoline prices, the mounting transportation issues, burgeoning growth, looming buildout, and lack of affordable housing. Yes, we are concerned about our water supply, and there is a large group of Cape Codders working feverishly to get the Mass Legislature and Governor to change the situation. Contamination measured in 'ppb' seems so small when measured with 10 and 20% increases in property taxes. We are not disinterested, but our priorities will be focused elsewhere until explosives, solvents, or heavy metals are found in our home drinking water.

But none of this is the issue. What is at issue is whether EPA is doing what it should to reach out. I don't think it is. Perhaps EPA ought to be spending time with the community rather than leaving the outreach to the military's PR departments.