RECORD OF DECISION 2024 - CURRENT
RECORD OF DECISION INVESTIGATES THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE’S CONTAMINATION OF LAND AT GEORGE AIR FORCE BASE IN ADELANTO, CALIFORNIA, AND ITS TRANSFORMATION INTO A GLOBAL LOGISTICS HUB. THE INTENTIONAL DISPOSAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INTO THE MOJAVE DESERT ECOSYSTEM CAUSED SEVERE AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO NATURAL RESOURCES, AS WELL AS LONG-TERM ILLNESS AND DEATH AMONG FAMILIES LIVING ON THE BASE AND IN SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. THE CLOSURE OF GEORGE AIR FORCE BASE LED TO ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IN ADELANTO AND NEARBY DESERT COMMUNITIES. INSTEAD OF FULLY REMEDIATING THE CONTAMINATED LAND, THE SITE WAS REDEVELOPED INTO THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOGISTICS AIRPORT, NOW ONE OF THE LARGEST WAREHOUSE AND LOGISTICS CENTERS IN THE STATE. DESPITE ONGOING CONTAMINATION, DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES TO EXPAND ACROSS THE SITE. LARGE WAREHOUSE COMPLEXES, HOUSING TRACTS, ADELANTO’S CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, AND ICE DETENTION CENTER OCCUPY THIS LAND, RAISING CONTINUED CONCERNS ABOUT EXPOSURE AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER ILLNESS AND LOSS OF LIFE. WITH THE CONTINUED DEFUNDING OF THE EPA, THOROUGH DOCUMENTATION AND REMEDIATION EFFORTS AT GEORGE AIR FORCE BASE HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED SINCE ITS CLOSURE. AS A RESIDENT OF THE HIGH DESERT, DAILEY CAMOFLAUGES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF OFFICIAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEMS, APPROPRIATING THE EPA’S PROCEDURAL HANDBOOK, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE - FOREST SERVICE - PHOTO POINT MONITORING HANDBOOK: PART A - FIELD PROCEDURES BY FREDERICK C. HALL, TO DOCUMENT AND ANALYZE THE SITE’S PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS. OPERATING THROUGH THE VERY STRUCTURES OF BUREAUCRATIC LAND SURVEILLANCE, DAILEY’S WORK EXPOSES THE ONGOING REMNANTS OF SYSTEMIC ENVIRONMENTAL HARM AT GEORGE, REVEALING HOW CONTAMINATION PERSISTS AND CONTINUES TO SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE MOJAVE DESERT.