Kratovil: Finish Assessment Before Judging Training Center

WASHINGTON - Rep. Frank Kratovil spoke out about a proposed State Department training center for the first time in months Wednesday, saying the plan shouldn't be judged before the pending environmental assessment is complete.

"Let's allow the process to work," Kratovil, D-Stevensville, said in a news release. "Right now, my goal is to get the facts on the table."

This is the first comment Kratovil has made about the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center since January, much to the disappointment of his constituents.

"We elected people, we put them into office, and they should be there for us, and they're not," said Sherry Adam, a Ruthsburg neighbor of the proposed site and a strong opponent of the facility.

The 2,000-acre, anti-terrorism and security training center has been the object of much debate since November when Ruthsburg's Hunt Ray Farm was announced as the preferred site. Some locals support it for the economic boost it could bring, while others oppose the project because of potential environmental and cultural impacts.

Kratovil's statement was a response to the Environmental Protection Agency's letter to the General Services Administration last week that suggested a complete environmental impact statement be done before the project is made final.

The GSA is in charge of conducting the early stages of the project, and is now in the environmental assessment process, which studies the facility's environmental effects on the area. The environmental assessment will be published later this month or in early April.

GO HERE to read more.