PUEBLO, COLORADO- The Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition (PCMiSCRAP) folks are parking semi-trailer billboards along I-25 to make certain the US Army expansion team gets their message. The ranchers have also scheduled their own public meetings to preempt the Army “Public Scoping” PR presentations.
KIM, COLORADO- The Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition will give the public an honest chance to comment on the proposed military expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, on three consecutive nights, just prior to the Army’s scoping hearings which will exclude testimony on the subject.
PCEOC hearing times are:
Tuesday, May 20, in Trinidad
Trinidad State Jr College, Massari Auditorium from 4 to 6pWednesday, May 21, in Colorado Springs
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Salon C (Grand Ballroom) from 3 to 6pThursday, May 22, in La Junta
Otero Junior College, Mc Bride Hall #137 from 4 to 6pArmy officials announced scoping hearings to discuss bringing additional troops to Fort Carson but said the hearings have nothing to do with the proposed expansion of the PCMS. The communities of Southeastern Colorado know this is not true and that the two issues are undeniably linked.
“The Army knows that a majority of Coloradans, a majority of state lawmakers and a majority of federal lawmakers oppose the expansion,” said PCEOC President Lon Robertson. “By excluding any discussion of PCMS from the scoping hearings, Army officials are attempting to avoid a difficult subject and skirt federal law.”
In 2007, Congress passed and the President signed into law a military appropriations bill which outlawed all funding on the proposed expansion of the PCMS.
“If the Army held a hearing on expanding the site, they’d violate the law so instead, they are pretending that increasing the force at Fort Carson will have no impact,” Robertson said. “In reality, if they get more brigades at Fort Carson, we know they will turn around and demand more acreage on which to train them.
“And the real question is why won’t the Army take no for an answer?” Robertson said. “This has been dragging on too long and even the threat of expansion is having devastating effects on our communities and economy.”
The Army is behaving lawlessly and now it seems they don’t even follow their own guidelines set by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRACC). The additional troops cited in this latest effort completely exceed the numbers stated in the 2005 BRACC report.
The Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, or PCEOC, is a broad-based coalition representing communities across Southern Colorado in their opposition to the proposed military expansion. PCEOC members include business owners, teachers, students, elected officials, ranchers, environmentalists and many others.
The coalition is united in its opposition to any expansion of PCMS. No funding, no expansion.