Fort Bliss National Cemetery El Paso Texas

PO3 John Jeter — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 23:19:38 -0400

Some while back the VA decided to take out the grass at the cemetery and replace it with a gravel covering. This was to save the money spent on watering the grass. They produced a nice little video on how nice it was and the conservation award they received. After some rain storms came through these photos were taken. Local VFW and Legion posts are trying to get the situation attended to either by getting the grass replanted (preferred) or an alternative measure (unknown as yet). I'm asking that you contact your elected representatives in any fashion you wish, and respectfully urge them to press for the VA to fix this problem soonest! This is a disgrace and it needs to be corrected! Thanks for your help!

Response by SGT Richard H. made Sep 29 at 2014 11:44 PM

SGT Richard H. — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 23:44:28 -0400

Ironically, as a construction Superintendent who has done Corps of Engineers work, I can tell you that you won't get them to sign off on a grading job to them without re-seeding and substantial growth starting.....apparently that rule is just for contract work.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2014 11:53 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 23:53:12 -0400

That looks appalling.

With that out of the way, surely they had to account for grade and drainage. While you can't account for freaks of nature, sudden rainstorms that dump a bunch of rain on a parched surface are certainly not unheard of on Ft Bliss.

This looks like something that could be addressed with simple drain tiling and perhaps a catch cistern (since water conservation was clearly the goal here). With that in mind, an environmental impact statement would have certainly been done - if not driven the whole idea in the first place. I'd be curious to see it... it should be a public record. Any of you internet ninjas able to acquire that document?

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made Sep 30 at 2014 7:18 AM

MSG Wade Huffman — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 07:18:02 -0400

This is terrible. I sincerely hope that they get this situation rectified soon. It's disgraceful.

Response by PO3 John Jeter made Oct 8 at 2014 10:40 AM

PO3 John Jeter — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 10:40:53 -0400

Things are progressing along the lines of getting this disgrace remedied, but we still need your support to get things finished. University of Texas El Paso professors are now involved in studying the problem and determining how it can be fixed, but the VA is stonewalling relentlessly. I would implore all of you to write to your Senators and Congressmen, even just an email, urging them to pressure the VA to get this fixed NOW. I'm attaching a photo of a letter from local Congressman Beto O'Rourke to the VA concerning the matter. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Response by PO3 John Jeter made Nov 4 at 2014 9:43 PM

PO3 John Jeter — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 21:43:23 -0500

Progress in getting things right! Every little bit helps!

http://www.elpasotimes.com/latestnews/ci_26863859/el-paso-city-council-approves-resolution-asking-grass

Council passes resolution to put grass at Fort Bliss National Cemetery

The El Paso City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday asking the Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration to replace the xeriscaping at Fort Bliss National Cemetery with grass and sod.