With an estimated 60,000 new jobs mandated to shift to Maryland by September 2011 as a result of the Pentagon's 2005 Base Realignment and Closure program, significant work remains on transportation, water and sewer, education, and workforce projects, among others.

As chairman of the Governor's Subcabinet on BRAC, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown deserves credit for his efforts to ease the large-scale expansion of several of Maryland's prominent military installations, but time is running short to implement some of the essential programs that have been delayed.

Before taking a closer look at the subcabinet's work, it's important to note that the 2005 BRAC process was somewhat unique in that it sought to do more than simply shutter redundant, outdated facilities. That year, Pentagon officials took a forward-thinking approach to make the military efficient in the long term. As a result, Maryland stands to see about 12,000 new jobs at Fort Meade, 8,000 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, 3,000 at Andrews Air Force Base, 2,400 at National Naval Medical Center and 1,400 at Fort Detrick. The remainder of the 60,000 estimate comes from trickle-down employment, such as subcontractors and service industry workers.

Maryland was nationally viewed as a big winner in the BRAC sweepstakes, and one that would reap the economic benefits of massive growth. However, in its final BRAC report, the Pentagon acknowledged that there would be impacts to local communities, but did not indicate how those should be addressed. That left the job, and the funding, primarily to the states (defense spending on improvements outside military installations has been minimal).

Since 2005, the state has made progress on several fronts, such as studying available housing. But a tight budget has meant delays in developing additional resources, such as an affordable housing trust fund, or a workforce housing trust fund. Another example relates to water resources — while reviews of local water and sewer plans are coming in on time, the Maryland Department of the Environment isn't funding any regional studies, even in the Aberdeen area, where the need to determine both water and wastewater capacity is greatest.

Looking at the efforts by facility, several have a number of goals yet to be achieved. At Aberdeen, officials still need to upgrade wastewater treatment plants at Joppatowne and Sod Run and build new park-and-ride lots along I-95; at Andrews, they want to improve wastewater treatment and build an interchange at Rt. 4 and Suitland Parkway; and at Fort Meade, plans are to upgrade multiple wastewater treatment plants and possibly build a MARC train station at Odenton.

According to Brown's latest progress report on BRAC, released this week, many of the plans are delayed due to the economic downturn, which has put a crimp in capital projects throughout the state. That's why U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen's and Jim Moran's efforts to secure $300 million for Fort Belvoir and the medical center in Bethesda have been so crucial. Funding of that scale, which was attached to a defense appropriations bill passed in December, is the first of its kind for "outside-the-fence" BRAC-related improvements. If the dollars are split evenly, the funds would pay for nearly all of Bethesda's needs. Part of the reason that money became available was the selling point that the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is really a nationwide facility, tending to service members from every state. Places like Fort Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground will have a tougher time finding federal dollars.

What's most disconcerting about the entire BRAC endeavor is the disconnect between the Department of Defense and the communities its choices affect. Once, when Fort Detrick and Aberdeen Proving Ground were in remote areas, these decisions had a far more limited impact. Now that Frederick and Aberdeen are large bedroom communities for Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, the effects are greater. Consider that in Harford County, the 8,000 jobs at Aberdeen represent nearly 7 percent of the jobs in the county, according to 2006 Census figures. For the Pentagon to effectively distribute its resources in the future, it will have to consider the ripple effects of expanding an installation.