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Narragansett tribe’s bid for Navy land revived

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Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Narragansett tribe’s bid for Navy land revived Wednesday, February 24, 2010 By Richard Salit Journal Staff Writer The Bureau of Indian Affairs, one month after announcing that it would abandon pursuing 260 acres of surplus Navy land on Aquidneck Island for the Narragansett Indian tribe, now says it will revive its bid to acquire the properties at no charge. The move, following a series of starts and stops in determining the fate of the properties, throws yet another potential roadblock in regional plans for the land. “The tribe is anxious to acquire the property … because the land is within the tribe’s aboriginal territory, and the acquisition would enable the tribe to provide services, job training and jobs to tribal members in the surrounding area,” Larry Echo Hawk, the bureau’s assistant secretary, wrote in a letter received by the Defense Department on Friday. Hawk said the bureau, “upon further consideration,” wishes to “retract” a Dec. 4 letter in which Indian Affairs Director Jerry Gidner informed the Navy that his agency was “unable to pursue the application.” It’s unclear how the Navy will respond to the request. On Tuesday, Gregory Preston, a manager in the Navy’s Base Realignment and Closure office, said that the Defense Department is “reviewing this matter.” Indian Affairs sought to acquire the Navy land for free through a process that gives federal agencies first crack at acquiring surplus property. But the process requires that the agencies acquire the properties at fair market value and pay for environmental cleanup. In a letter he sent the Narragansetts in December, Gidner explained that his agency did not have sufficient time to obtain an appraisal of the properties’ fair-market value or to review a Navy environmental report. On Feb. 9, the Navy advertised the availability of surplus property in the Federal Register. Since then, a board comprising officials from Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth has been formed to plan the reuse of the land and the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission had been designated to assist it. The commission completed a master plan in 2005 that proposed reusing the land for economic development, renewable energy and recreation. Commission director Tina Dolen was surprised that the Indian Affairs request is under consideration following the Federal Register notice. “It’s possible this is unprecedented,” she said. It raises the question, “Does publication in the Federal Register formally cement the release of the properties?” She remained confident the communities’ plans would prevail. “This is such an important economic job-creating opportunity for Aquidneck Island and the state as a whole,” she said. “We have another delay, but I believe it’s going to happen.” Echo Hawk, in his letter, requested waivers from the fair-market value and cleanup mandates. He cited a federal executive order directing agencies to offer flexibility to tribes seeking waivers. John Brown, the tribe’s medicine-man-in-training, said that transferring Navy land is a lengthy process that could take “5, 10 or 15 years.” It’s a process, he said, that demands a great deal of patience. http://www.projo.com/news/content/TRIBE_REVISITS_NAVY_LAND_02-24-10_UCHI6TA_v14.3a68faf.html

 

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