PUEBLO, Colo.—U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet says he’s been assured by his colleagues in the Senate that a funding ban on the Army’s proposed expansion of a disputed training site in southeast Colorado will remain in effect.
Bennet says the ban would continue through 2010 when the military construction appropriations bill is approved. The funding ban was first authored in 2007.
The Army has proposed expanding its 238,000-acre Pinon Canyon training site by 100,000 to accommodate an increase of Fort Carson soldiers. The training site is near La Junta, about 90 miles southeast of Fort Carson in Colorado Springs.
Local farmers and ranchers have opposed the expansion, saying it would take agricultural land out of production and hurt the area’s economy.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
