[EDITORIAL]Return of U.S. bases Negotiations are dragging on between the government and the U.S. Forces Korea over cleaning up contaminated land in U.S. bases that will be returned to Korean ownership. Through an initial survey by Korean experts last year, the Environment Ministry discovered that many of the U.S. bases were seriously polluted by the residues of fuel oil and other chemicals. The cost for their "restoration work" was estimated at a maximum of 500 billion won or about $500 million, a surprisingly large figure which drew public attention to the problem of where the money should come from. USFK authorities have so far expressed willingness to remove only the fuel tanks from inside the bases concerned, which would cost them some $2 million. They would not accept responsibility for any alleged contamination beyond the criteria of "known, imminent and substantial endangerment" to human health as defined in a memorandum under the Korea-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. U.S. officers are known to be complaining that Korea is setting too high an environmental standard for the U.S. bases. The Korean side cited the agreement in a SOFA Joint Committee meeting in May 2003 which provided that the U.S. bases would be returned to Korea after cleaning up polluted land identified through joint surveys. The joint surveys are still underway and the significant gap between the "KISE" standards of the USFK and the provisions in Korea's anti-pollution laws is preventing an early settlement of the problem. Under the USFK relocation program, the United States will hand back 34 bases located around the country to Korean ownership by 2011. The various combat and support units of the USFK will move into consolidated and modernized bases in Pyeongtaek and Osan, south of Seoul, which are scheduled to be ready by 2008. The first- stage handover of 11 U.S. bases, originally scheduled to be completed in 2005, is being delayed due mainly to the contamination question. While the government purchase of the Pyeongtaek land designated for the new U.S. base is being hampered by the resistance of residents, it is dismaying to see the return of old bases being disrupted by the pollution problem. We believe that both government authorities and civic circles now need to look at the issue from the broad viewpoint of facilitating the major transition of the military alliance between the two countries. Most of the U.S. bases here have been used by U.S. forces for half a century since the Korean War, for the defense of this country. The contamination of the bases has resulted from the storage, distribution and consumption of fuel and possibly some kinds of ammunition and chemical materials over the long period of occupancy, not from any commercial activities. It will be hard to convince the U.S. military authorities if we demand that the land be restored to what it was like before the war. It may be suggested that a creditable U.S. environmental engineering firm be invited to participate in the ongoing surveys to determine the status of contamination at the bases to be returned. The U.S. forces need to accept specific results from joint surveys rather than sticking to the ambiguous "KISE" criteria and show their sincerity in serving as "good stewards of the environment" as former USFK Commander Gen. Leon LaPorte assured in his farewell news conference earlier this year. 2006.03.22