House Leadership praises Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s provision for no-cost land transfers that became basis for compromise
 
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today she was pleased with a compromise agreement worked out between House and Senate negotiators that will make it possible for the Department of Defense to transfer land from the Brunswick Naval Air Station to the community without requiring that the local redevelopment authority come up with tens of millions of dollars to purchase the land.
 
“I’m glad that some compromise was found with the Senate,” Pingree said.  “Now it will be possible for the land in Brunswick to be transferred in a way that makes it economically feasible to redevelop it.  When the Defense Department closes a base it’s essential to help communities like Brunswick acquire the land so they can redevelop it and bring new economic activity to the area.”
 
House Leadership praised Pingree’s work on the provision.  
 
“Congresswoman Pingree took the lead in introducing legislation to change the way the Defense Department transfers land at former military bases,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.  “She was a moving force behind this legislation and thanks to her, this provision made it into the final bill.”
 
Earlier this year Pingree introduced a bill (H.R. 1959, the “Defense Communities Redevelopment Act of 2009”) that instructed the government to transfer land at decommissioned military bases to the community at no cost if there is a significant economic benefit.  Over the last eight years, the Department of Defense has required communities to pay for the land—sometimes millions of dollars—and that has resulted in many parcels going unused after a base is closed.
 
Pingree’s proposal was incorporated into the Defense Authorization Act and passed by the House earlier this year.  However, the proposal relating to the no-cost transfers was not included in the Senate version of the bill so negotiators had to agree on a compromise, which was reached last night.  The bill is expected to pass the House today and the Senate next week.
 
Pingree’s original proposal required the Department of Defense to make a no-cost transfer of land to local redevelopment authorities, while the compromise reached with the Senate allows the land to be transferred at no cost.
 
“This case isn’t closed yet,” Pingree said. “It’s important that we make sure that Defense Secretary Gates uses the authority this legislation gives him and transfers the former Brunswick Naval Air Station land quickly and in a way that is economically feasible for the community.”
 
Steve Levesque, Executive Director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, was pleased with the compromise agreement.

“This is an important development for us,” Levesque said.  “Without it, it’s hard to imagine how we could come up with the tens of millions of dollars it would take to purchase land at the base.”