The Air Force announced Tuesday that it has terminated negotiations with a private commercial developer to build a waste-water treatment facility at Beale AFB, Calif., under the Defense Department’s enhanced use lease initiative. “Business developments and market conditions” occurring after Beale Community Partners, LLC, was selected in March for this leasing opportunity “caused steep reductions in the returns the Air Force was to realize from the project,” the service said in a release. Those reductions, it noted, coupled with “other aspects” of the proposed development, drove the decision. Air Force spokesman Gary Strasbourg told the Daily Report Tuesday that “at this point, there are no known plans for any future development,” when asked if the service would seek another potential leasing partner. The Air Force began the talks with BCP in June. The treatment facility would have serviced the communities surrounding Beale.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
