[CPEO-BIF] New report: The Role of Local Governments in Long-TermStewardship at

[seeger@eli.org]

The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the Energy Communities
Alliance (ECA) issued a report on March 9 that points out the
difficulties facing the Department of Energy (DOE) and state, local, and
tribal governments in effectively managing lands that may be harmful to
human health and the environment. "The Role of Local Governments in
Long-Term Stewardship at Department of Energy Facilities" is the result
of a two-year ELI/ECA study of DOE sites where contamination will remain
even after DOE completes its remediation efforts.

At over 100 sites across the country DOE is cleaning up the radioactive
and chemical contamination legacy of the Cold War. Local governments
will be relied upon to implement essential elements of plans to protect
the public and the environment from hazards that will remain after DOE
completes its cleanup efforts. This report examines the capacity of
local governments to participate in the long-term stewardship decision
making.

ELI and ECA performed case studies on three prominent DOE sites that
have significant lingering contamination, including radioactive
materials and hazardous chemicals. Sites studied include Rocky Flats
Environmental Technology Site, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak
Ridge Reservation. At each of these sites, DOE developed cleanup plans
that will reduce the risks due to hazardous substances at the sites, but
that will leave some hazards in place.

The report includes 47 findings and 31 policy recommendations developed
as a result of over 100 in-depth interviews with a wide variety of
local, state, tribal, and federal government representatives, national
experts on long-term stewardship, and citizens. The policy
recommendations should assist in ensuring that DOE, EPA, state, local,
and tribal governments work together to employ the most effective
long-term stewardship strategies.

A key finding of the report is  that although the remediation decisions
by DOE and the regulators rely upon long-term stewardship, the long-term
stewardship processes are not fully developed or understood. The report
calls for DOE and regulators to identify the parties, costs, and
processes involved with long-term stewardship of these contaminated
sites. Further, the report asserts that although local governments have
the legal authority to implement many legal controls that can be used to
protect human health and the environment, more effective cooperation
between the DOE and local governments is needed.

The study was conducted in cooperation with DOE, which also provided
funding for the study.

Copies of the study are available to the media by calling Virginia Lee
at (202) 939-3253. The report can be downloaded for free at the
Institute's web site, http://www.eli.org/store/rr01localDOE.htm. Print
copies of “The Role of Local Governments in Long-Term Stewardship at
Department of Energy Facilities” are available to the public for $20 and
can be purchased by calling 1-800-433-5120.

The Energy Communities Alliance is the membership organization of local
governments that are adjacent to or impacted by DOE activities.

ELI is an independent, non-profit research and educational organization
based in Washington, D.C. The Institute serves the environmental
profession in business, government, the private bar, public interest
organizations, academia, and the press.



--
Elizabeth Seeger
Environmental Law Institute
1616 P Street, N.W.
Suite 200
Washington, DC  20036
PH: 202-939-3800
FAX: 202-939-3868
seeger@eli.org



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