Editorials

It was “a great day,” said Sen. Richard Shelby. Anniston Mayor Chip Howell called it a “coup.” Congressmen who represent other communities trying to clean and redevelop former military bases tried to get what Anniston received, but couldn’t, said Rep. Mike Rogers.

So cheer. It seems appropriate.

Thursday’s news that the Army had agreed to provide about $151 million to complete the cleanup of the former Fort McClellan is indeed a report we should trumpet. (With previously received clean-up money that total likely will exceed $200 million.) Much of Calhoun County’s future is linked to McClellan’s redevelopment — be it the growth of the former fort’s residential and industrial sites or the completion of the Eastern Parkway — and that redevelopment cannot proceed on many McClellan acres as long as unexploded ordnance is buried beneath the red-clay soil.

Without cleanup, much of McClellan cannot be redeveloped.

Without cleanup, the Eastern Parkway won’t connect anything to anything.

So, yes, let’s cheer.

The cynic is correct to warn that there always are snags and glitches in projects such as this, especially when it comes to the bureaucracy of the Army. The frustratingly slow redevelopment of McClellan, the criticism of the Joint Powers Authority’s spotty performance and the constant need for clean-up money is proof. We should expect bumps in the long road to McClellan’s ultimate future, maybe a need for more money should the clean-up process require more sweat and strain than we currently predict. Expecting clear sailing is both naïve and problematic.

Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly a red-letter day when the Army agrees to help this community solve a problem the military created in the first place. The Army lived here, the Army used ammunition on McClellan’s grounds, and the Army left that ordnance behind when it shuttered the fort in 1999. There is no other ethical, logical solution than to have the Army financially assist this community with cleanup.

The bottom line is the cleanup of McClellan can proceed; we don’t have to stop and wait on more funding. Each acre that’s cleared of bombs and mortars and ammunition rounds creates an acre of developable land. And with money in hand, it’s up to those in charge of the cleanup to make sure it happens in the quickest, safest and most efficient way possible. That indeed would be worth a yell.