US Army Europe USAREUR Office of the Judge

US Army Europe (USAREUR) Office of the Judge Advocate Baseline / Closure Surveys for Operations, Exercises, and Transformation Related Activities Craig Walmsley, General Engineer US Army Claims Service, Europe (USACSEUR) AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 1

Purpose ü Background on Baseline / Closure Surveys and Claims for: è CONOPS (Balkans) è Exercises (IR 06, IR 05, Bulwark 04, Victory Strike, etc. ) è For Global Rebasing / Global Restationing (EBS for MK, NSTA, Babadag, etc. ) ü Identify importance of Global Rebasing / Global Re -stationing (GR 2) initiatives as they relate to potential claims against the U. S. Government ü Seek Army Leadership Awareness and Support AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 2

Environmental Baseline Surveys (EBS) ü USAREUR ODCSENG began EBS’s in Balkans in 1997 Defined the “environmental condition” of the site prior to or soon after arrival of US Forces (IFOR) è Continually monitored / updated the “environmental finger-print” of all IFOR/SFOR activities è Already protected US from over $1 M in non-environmental real -estate claims è ü USAREUR G-3 conducted EBS’s in BU/RO prior to conducting bilateral training exercises (2005 / 2006) è Documented soil/groundwater conditions at these former HN military facilities (particularly at the up-gradient and down-gradient boundaries). è Funded 100% from “Exercise Budget”…reluctantly AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 3

Environmental Closure Reports (ECRs) ü USAREUR ODCSENG began conducting ECRs in Balkans in 2000 è Defined the “environmental condition” of the site at time of closure by U. S. Forces è Documented everything on CD-ROM’s ü USAREUR G-3 conducted ECR’s in BU/RO at the conclusion of bilateral training exercises (2005, 2006) è Documented soil/groundwater conditions at these former HN military facilities. è Funded 100% from “Exercise Budget”…reluctantly è Provided reports to Host Nation, USACSEUR AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 4

Environmental Baseline Surveys and Environmental Closure Reports ü Closures Bosnia – 29 sites, FCA è Hungary – 1 site, NATO è Kosovo – 18 sites, FCA Macedonia – 1 site, FCA ü USACSEUR fully engaged, has input on design of EBS/ECR’s; so far ODCSENG has been able to fund USACSEUR’s EBS/ECR requirements ü NAC waived SOFA’s cost-sharing provisions for claims in Macedonia & Albania. ü Exercises Bulwark 04 – EBS / ECR è Immediate Response 05 – EBS / ECR è Immediate Response 06 – EBS / ECR (Aug 06) è ü USACSEUR engaged, has limited input on design of EBS/ECR’s ü No “Regulation or Requirement” to do these…so U’R reluctant to fund these ü Transformation MK Airfield Romania – WIP è NSTA Bulgaria – WIP è ü USACSEUR is NOT engaged yet…. coordinating w/ USAREUR staff ü No “Regulation or Requirement” to do these to protect from Claims, only to protect Health & Safety aspect. AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 5

Third - Party Claims ü For NATO-SOFA countries: è Third-parties are loosely defined by SOFA è Claims filed with HN authorities è HN investigates, adjudicates, and pays claim…Sole U. S. input is “scope” certificate! HN Law applies è US then reimburses HN its 75% share è Claimant can appeal decision to local court ü For CONOPS countries (no SOFA, No PFP) è Claims filed directly w/ local JAG “Commission” è US determines merits, adjudicates claim è Can request reconsideration from same Commission AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 6

Third - Party Claims (Cont’d) ü For PFP countries è Has treaty been ratified by HN? …NATO SOFA incorporated by reference è If treaty has been signed but NOT ratified by HN (e. g. Russia) ü Negotiate! ü Preference: SOFA(75% US) ü Default: FCA (100%) è Mil-to-mil waiver? è Appeals è Could è U. S. AN ARMY FORWARD process…? ? ? SOFA be invoked in middle of a claim? has signed and ratified Pf. P Treaty ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 7

NATO / SOFA Provisions ü NATO / SOFA Governs: è Cost sharing formula: US tortfeasor? 75% (US) / 25% (HN) è Not Self-implementing: Each country must pass implementing legislation. Not all have done so. Little consistency. è Filing period for claims: Varies by country (90 days in Germany, 5 years in Romania) HN Law applies! è Installation Access: HN access and US post-closure access vary è Applicability of HN Law: German SA changed “Respect” to “Obey” AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 8

NATO/SOFA Provisions (Cont’d) ü NATO / SOFA Governs - con’t: è ALL have 3 rd-Party Damage Claims è Retroactive: HN environmental law changes are common and DO apply to existing pollution è North Atlantic Committee Issues: Waived 25% share for Albania and Macedonia (Currently using FCA) ü Some Countries have Supplemental Agreement è May cause further restrictions to our operations è More issues to resolve AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 9

Foreign Claims Act & PFP Claims Provisions ü Foreign Claims Provisions: è No cost-sharing formula: US pays 100% è Filing period for claims is 2 years (U. S. law) è U. S. Forces JAG Commission determines liability, adjudicates claim, makes offer to claimant è Can request reconsideration from same or successor Commission ü PFP Claims Provisions: è When PFP ratified by HN, then NATO SOFA provisions apply è When NOT ratified, then ? ? ? AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 10

EBS/ECR Summary, Exercises and GR 2 ü Environmental Baseline Surveys è Required by USAREUR / USAFE ü BUT, designed primarily designed to protect Health and Safety of troops on scene è DOES NOT protect US from future claims ü No documentation of existing environmental conditions at these sites prior to use by US Forces è 3 rd Party Claims ü If US doesn’t document pre-existing conditions, chances are we “bought” them (Joint and Several Liability) ü NO requirement exists for these comprehensive EBS’s AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 11

REMEDIATIONS ü CONOPS Remediations: TFF Range (Kosovo) – lead from ranges left in place è Camp Odin (Bi-H) KBRS leased facility – POL by Swedes left in place è ü Exercise Remediations: è “You Spill, You Dig” (on-post) è “You Spill, USACSEUR Pays” (off-post) ü GR 2 Remediations: è Not yet defined AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 12

CONOPS, EXERCISES, GR 2 ü Proposed Fix and Way-Ahead: è Coordinate and combine the Health/Safety EBS requirements with the Legal/Claims EBS requirements ü Only one visit to site for initial, one visit for final – SAVES $$$ ü Use same contractor or government lab (USACHPPMEUR or Contractor) ü Report is more comprehensive and WILL protect US from future 3 rd Party Claims ü Feed data to GIS for each site è Need to elevate awareness and importance of EBS’s to senior leadership è Need EBS policy and requirements to be standardized to meet every stake-holders needs AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 13

Partnership – USAREUR & GR 2 ü USAREUR / EUCOM: Identify all GR 2 sites, provide funding for “robust” Environmental Baseline Surveys, and accomplish these prior to occupancy by U. S. Forces ü USACSEUR: Review proposed EBS, insure subsurface contaminants all identified and all possible polluters identified, and all plumes are fully characterized prior to U. S. Forces use of facility ü IMA-E (or Agency “owning” site): After “puppy becomes a dog”, maintain documentation on each site to protect U. S. Forces. AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 14

EBS / ECR Photos AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 15

Contact Information Craig Walmsley USAREUR, OJA, U. S. Army Claims Service, Europe E-mail: walmsley@hq. hqusareur. army. mil Phone: DSN: 380 -4184 Comm: 011 49 621 730 -4184 Fax: DSN 380 -4244 AN ARMY FORWARD ANY MISSION, ANYWHERE! UNCLASSIFIED Joint Staff-OSD Workshop, 25 -27 July 2006 16