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What is an Environmental Services Cooperative Agreement (ESCA)?

An Environmental Services Cooperative Agreement (ESCA) is a grant mechanism that enables the Army to provide cleanup funding to a local governmental entity. This allows the local entity, such a reuse authority, to conduct all remedial activities necessary to meet state and federal cleanup standards more efficiently than traditional contracts.

On March 31, 2007 the U.S. Army (Army) and the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) entered into an ESCA thereby allowing the Army to transfer 3,340 acres of Economic Development Conveyance (EDC) properties and the responsibility of removing Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) to FORA. The ultimate goal of the program is to expedite the environmental cleanup activities, and transfer, with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) approval, the munitions impacted property to the local jurisdictions. Under the terms of the agreement the Army will provide FORA with the funds to conduct the munitions remediation work, purchase environmental insurance to cover remedial activities, and reimburse regulators for their oversight of the program.

FORA went through a competitive bid process to select contractors with extensive expertise dealing with base closure and MEC contaminated sites. This team of contractors, consisting of LFR Inc, Weston Solutions, Inc., and Westcliffe Engineers, Inc., will perform the remedial work on the ESCA properties. Under the terms of the ESCA and additional agreements between the EPA and DTSC, FORA will be required to meet the same standards for MEC remediation as the Army and abide by all federal and state regulations governing the cleanup of a Superfund site.

In negotiations between the Army, FORA, EPA, and DTSC it was agreed that the ESCA would be funded up front. This means that unlike traditional Department of Defense (DOD) cleanup programs, FORA will not have to compete for cleanup funds every year. The cleanup program can be planned out and executed without having to stop work due to lack of funds or a change in DOD funding priorities. This is good news for the local community because it means that work can continue uninterrupted and land returned to productive use quickly.