Ever since pollution issues started cropping up at military bases and their surrounding communities, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs as well as other government agencies and programs have been trying to find ways to repair the damages that have been done to veterans, current service members and their families. Keep reading to learn some ways that the government is trying to mitigate contamination issues.
Giving Compensation
Sometimes, after the damage has been done, there is not much anyone can do besides offer financial assistance to the families to ease the burden. When it comes to camp lejeune base legal, the goverment established an act that was signed into law. This law dictates that people who qualify will be compensated up to a certain amount for the medical complications that resulted from long-term exposure to contaminated water on base. The downside to the process for getting compensation is that the money may not come to the families for months to years depending on how long the wait is. If the families need the money sooner than that, or if they meet the requirements but get less than what they had hoped for and still have a burden, this method is not much help.
Making Plans for Cleanup
With over a hundred military bases either closed down or close to closing due to water contamination, the communities surrounding the bases have been wondering what the government is doing about cleanup. The government has made plans to clean up the bases, but they have not said exactly when. What is known is that it is going to cost millions of dollars per base that has to be cleaned up. When all added up, it could be hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars spent on the cleanup alone. However, it is unclear as to whether the cleanup will extend to the surrounding communities or if it will just be the bases that get the cleanup.
Fast-Tracking the Process
There are some sites that the government has designated for a fast-tracking process. What this means is that they will do a quick cleanup. Whatever is necessary, they will do, and in a shorter amount of time, pushing those bases up to the top of the list. As for what will happen to the property that the bases are on, they may be resold. Some of the properties are even resold before the cleanup begins and the cleanup occurs later. While the government has technically saved hundreds of millions of dollars this way, the potential consequences of the fast-tracking may cost more than what they have saved. If the cleanup is not done properly and there are complaints or lawsuits filed later, the damage and the cost to fix it might be exponentially worse.
There are a lot of different methods that the government is currently using to mitigate the damage caused by water contamination. While it is unclear as to when things will be resolved, the methods may have to be changed or improved before the resolution can be reached.
