DENVER—U.S. Reps. John Salazar and Betsy Markey say a top Army official has reassured them that land to expand a southeast Colorado training site would come only from willing sellers.
The Colorado congressional delegates said Tuesday that Assistant Army Secretary Keith Eastin told them officials would consider other sites if there are not enough willing sellers or lessors.
The Army says it needs to expand the 370-acre site used by Fort Carson to accommodate new weapons, tactics and soldiers.
Politicians and landowners have criticized the plan, saying it would hurt the economy by removing land from agricultural production and that the Army hasn’t justified the expansion.
Also Tuesday, Salazar and Markey said Eastin told them he planned to announce his retirement on Monday. However, Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, an Army spokesman, said he could not immediately confirm that report.
Eastin’s comments came during a briefing to the House Oversight Committee, which has asked the Army to explain several aspects of the expansion, including whether the Army planned to lease or buy land for the site, which is near La Junta, about 140 miles southeast of Denver. Last month, there were reports that the Army planned to lease 49 square miles, or 100,000 acres.
Salazar and Markey were concerned the Army was ignoring a moratorium imposed by Congress in January 2008 on spending for the project.
Markey said Eastin’s message to them put it in “bold letters” that the Army “will buy only from willing sellers.”
