Re: [CPEO-BIF] "Brownfields widespread, confidential Ohio industrial polluti

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[from Marti Sinclair <mjsinclair@prodigy.net>]

The situation in Ohio is even more dire.  Under our current "Voluntary
Action Plan" for brownfields, residents need not be notified when a
brownfields site is undergoing assessment and remediation.  There is no
public participation other than a brief period just prior to the
issuance of the No Further Action letter by the state at the end of the
process. There is also little oversight by the state.

The Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club, Ohio Citizen Action, and Ohio PIRG
have been negotiating with Region V EPA in a desperate attempt to get
the US EPA to withhold promises of finality and "hands off" until the
state agrees to some minimal requirements for the public notice, rtk and
participation. Region V is considering, maybe, requiring public notice
before the actual remedial action is instituted.  This would still allow
the site assessment, environmental sampling, and the risk assessment to
be performed by industry consultants prior to any public notice or
agency oversight.  Region V claims that residents or the state could
make the volunteer go back and do more sampling if the sampling were
inadequate - but we don't believe that would ever happen here in Ohio.

Ohioans voted for an "environmental ballot issue," in November which
will set aside some money for greenspace and some for the brownfields
program. The Sierra Club opposed it, but the governor had slick ads
picturing and promising sparkling bubbling brooks and beautiful parks. 
So now public money will be going into our secretive, no-accountability
brownfields program.

Marti Sinclair,  Conservation Committee CoChair, Miami Group, Ohio
Chapter of the Sierra Club 

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org


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