Camp Long -- Or Camp Eagle Part II

There is no question that USFK has soil contamination problems. It is also equally undeniable that the Korean military and other elements of Korean society have the exact same problems.

A high school friend of mine is an environmental engineer from Georgia Tech. He works year round on fuel and oil leaks with gas stations in America.

The fact that Korean society's use of such contamination on US military bases while never ranting or raving or putting out news story after editorial of the same problems in Korean-owned and operated institutions is the epitome of hypocrisy is easily dismissed by many Koreans I have talked to with one of the common thought-blocks.

"So, USFK never pollutes?!"

"No. Obviously I just admitted that they do have contamination issues."

"So, it is alright if they pollute?"

"It is about exaggeration and perspective. Is is ok if the chaebol or Korean military or others in Korea pollute?"

"So, USFK never pollutes?!"

The Camp Long fuel crime is a good example, at the very least, of the "sincerity" of the Korean civic groups:

About two years of weekly protests by the Wonju Citizens Group at the Army¡¯s Camp Long ended Saturday. An announcement by U.S. Forces Korea confirmed the tiny support base will be returned to Korean control under the Land Partnership Plan.

"Since Camp Long will be returned, there is no longer a reason to hold the protests," a group official said on the condition of anonymity. "We will redirect our efforts toward how to use the returned land." (Stars and Stripes)

Here is how the story unfolded over these two years.

The leak was first discovered on May 19 when farmers found large amounts of oil flowing into waterways next to their rice paddies. Camp Long is situated just about 30 to 40 meters away from the site. (Korea Times)

...

Residents in the contaminated area have claimed that about 100cc of oil is flowing into the area from the U.S. military base every minute. (Korea Times)

...

"As there is a possibility that the whole farming area has been polluted by oil, a through joint inspection of the area must be swiftly carried out," he said.

"Even though test samples prove that the oil came from the military base, the USFK is continuing to deny the charges," said Yun.

Korean officials were also briefed on the results of the USFK's separate investigations into the incident. The details were not immediately available. (Korea Times)

...

The underground water in the area was also polluted, with toluene, a cancer-causing substance, detected in some samples, the report revealed.

"It is especially alarming that the underground water, which has served as a source of tap water for the residents for years, was found to be contaminated," noted Yun. (Korea Times)

When I first arrived in Wonju, my boss advised me to wash fruits and vegetables in either bottled or boiled water. In 1996 or 1997, an adult student called me early one morning to tell me to not use any tap water because the city was going to shut off all the water due to the amount of pig feces they had detected. The water was cut off for a couple of days.

"As local residents and municipal governments both suffer from considerable damages due to U.S. troops in the area, we drafted a bill to collect government compensation for them," a Chunchon municipal government official said yesterday.

The bill aims to support local governments with state subsidies for providing land to U.S. military troops, and to provide compensation for damages caused by U.S. forces in such areas as transportation, environment and city planning, among others.

"We are also considering levying fees on U.S. troops for using privately- owned property or facilities," he said. (Korea Times)

During the protests at Camp Long (Stars and Stripes), groups pitched tents and held continual events. At one of them, a member of the US Air Force was detained in his car for a couple of hours while Korean riot police refused to intervene.

After USFK and Korean government tests (Stars and Stripes) that took a couple of weeks, USFK accepted responsibility for the contamination though a source was not found. This did nothing to stop the bleeding or hate.

"Although we have not been able to conclusively determine from where it is coming, the results of our joint surveys strongly indicate that it is consistent with the properties found in JP-8 and is probably coming from our installation," said Area III Commander Col. Glenn DeSoto at a press conference held Tuesday in Camp Long. (Korea Times)

The official admission came after several reports in Stars and Stripes about what Camp Long and USFK were doing to determine the actual nature of the fuel and leak. It took time because of the similarities between JP-8 and kerosene which is used extensively in Korea including by farmers to burn old crops before planting.

A March 2002 report (Stars and Stripes) stated that a clear determination of whether the fuel from the soil was JP-8 or another of the kerosene family had not been made.

The Korea Times news report on the official admission had this to say about the nature of USFK actions after the allegations of the leak were made by Korean civic groups:

Although civic groups have been shouting themselves hoarse regarding the issue of environmental pollution by U.S. troops stationed in Korea, this marks the first time that the USFK formally apologized and acknowledged responsibility for contamination caused by U.S. military bases.

This is a misleading statement at best. See this article of a fuel line break in Taegu, and see how the admission and actions of USFK did nothing to dent the press coverage of Green Korea claims.

There were other problems in the reporting as usually happens.

"Although it has been proven that oil leakages from Camp Long contaminated farmland in the area, the USFK has not restored the land to its original state. Nor has it undertaken any consultations for compensation," said Yun Yo-wang, director of Wonju Citizens' Group (WCG). (Korea Times)

This is from Dec. 2001 and below is the Stars and Stripes in March 2002 about the third attempt by USFK to explain to the farmers how to submit compensation claims:

The farmers, Wonju officials and two national assemblymen said complaints can't be filed because an environmental survey has not been completed. That survey is being conducted by U.S. Forces Korea environmental officials and the South Korean Environment Ministry. USFK officials could not be reached for comment.

"We won't know how much damage was caused and how much it will cost to repair it until the survey is finished," one farmer said.]

I wonder if the lawyers from the civic groups are going to stick around through the civil court proceedings now that the base-closure announcement has come and lessened the drive of the "environmental activists" to rant and rave?

Probably. But I doubt their hearts are in it. There are so many other fuel, oil, or other common industrial environmental "crimes" to build on that would capture the public's imagination right now.
I wonder if the farmers will regret their choices in the end?