The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has withdrawn its application on behalf of the Narragansett Indian Tribe seeking acquisition of the 260 acres of surplus property as identified at Naval Station Newport, according to a statement from the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC) late this afternoon. From the press release:

What does this mean? Basically, it means the BRAC 2005 process for Naval Station Newport and Aquidneck Island will now commence its original course of moving toward a notice of formal surplus recognition for all 260 acres. This may occur in as little as two weeks...however the timetable is not formalized at this time.

It is a Federal BRAC requirement to publish a formal notice and description of the “surplus property” in the Federal Register in order to officially announce the property availability. This notice will begin the BRAC process for the Aquidneck Island communities.

Next Steps: The BRAC Program office is currently preparing a letter relative to the Federal Register Notice that will be forwarded to the Director of the BRAC PMO in San Diego, Kimberly Kesler (whom many of you will remember from her visit to Newport in March 2008). Ms. Kesler will forward the letter to the Acting Secretary of the Navy. Once those steps are completed and approved, the BRAC PMO will move to the publish the Federal Register Notice.

Closely following the Federal Register Announcement, the AIPC, serving as the point of contact (POC), is required to begin its work with already established partners at the Department of Defense, Office of Economic Adjustment to ensure that the Aquidneck Island Reuse Authority (AIRPA) (representing Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth, as well as ex-officio members, including the RI Economic Development Corporation, among others) is officially recognized, acquires grant funding, and is authorized to begin acting as the regional representative authority. The AIRPA is required to complete a series of planning steps for the ensuing BRAC process, which is expected to take approximately 18 months.
— AIPC statement