Managing compliance and risk on military testing and training ranges

Abstract

AbstractThe downsizing of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the closure of military installations have resulted in attempts to end DOD control of large tracts of military testing and training ranges. In some cases, potential risks associated with unexploded ordnance and ordnance‐related contaminants have hampered base closure and the transfer of DOD‐controlled property. Such potential risks at both closing and active military installations have resulted in the promulgation of DOD directives and regulations by both the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Furthermore, a DOD‐authored regulation addressing risks to human health and the environment on closed and transferred military ranges, the Military Range Rule, is expected in the near future. This article describes the basic regulatory framework that is driving and will drive operations at active and closed military ranges. It also describes one strategy that can be used to manage compliance and risk on military testing and training ranges. The strategy involves developing a multi‐phased information system that documents range‐related activities and provides for increasingly sophisticated data collection and analysis techniques. In Phase I, the information system is assembled using existing information sources. In Phase II, the information collected in Phase I is used to populate a database is linked to maps by means of a Geographic Information System.