DEFENSE "REFORM" ACT

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

The House National Security Committee announced yesterday the
introduction of legislation that would amend Superfund and the Clean
Air Act. The Committee will markup the bill next week (the week of
June 9). Below are excerpts from the Committee news release.

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 HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP INTRODUCE
 H.R. 1778, THE DEFENSE REFORM ACT OF 1997

Reflecting a growing consensus for more aggressive Pentagon reform,
senior members of the House National Security Committee have
introduced legislation to compel significant changes to the Department
of Defense bureaucracy and many of its business practices.

"The imperative for forward-leaning Pentagon reforms has never been
greater," said committee Chairman Floyd Spence (R-SC) upon
introduction of H.R. 1778, The Defense Reform Act of 1997. "The
Department of Defense spends far too much of its shrinking resources
on burdensome regulations, excessive support staff, and inefficient
business practices. The `business as usual' approach, where 60 percent
of the defense budget is spent on infrastructure and support
functions, is no longer acceptable when we continue to cut combat
forces in order to pay bills."

At the request of committee Democrats, Ranking Member Ronald V.
Dellums (D-CA) joined Spence in sponsoring the legislation.

Dellums stated that, "Although I do not personally agree with all of
the provisions contained in the legislation, I do believe that the
negotiations have proceeded in good faith in an effort to arrive at a
package that the majority of members can support. I view this as the
first step in the deliberative legislative process, one that will
begin the debate which is meant to produce meaningful and necessary
reform within the Pentagon."

...

The committee is expected to consider the legislation next week.

A summary of the bill's major provisions follows.

 [Material deleted.]

 Environmental Reforms

Consideration of Future Land Use: Under current law, the selection of
a cleanup remedy for a given Superfund site does not take into account
the site's future use. For example, under current law, a site that
will be used as a landfill after cleanup must receive the same level
of treatment as a site that will be used for a child-care center. Such
"blanket" treatments are often not required nor do they necessarily
provide tangible environmental benefit. Accordingly, this provision
requires EPA to at least consider as one variable the likely future
use of a contaminated site in choosing a cleanup remedy.

EPA's Role in Environmental Cleanup: Current law has allowed states to
enter into interagency agreements that have afforded states total
control of the cleanup of contaminated federal facilities and of
federal funds used for the cleanup activities. This provision would
reassert the role of EPA in the approval and delegation of federal
cleanup authority to states.

Cleanup Methods: Current environmental law encourages the permanent
treatment of a contaminated site, regardless of the different levels
or types of contamination located at the site. While many such sites
contain "hot spots" that merit immediate and comprehensive cleanup,
they may also contain many areas that have little or no contamination.
Therefore, the provision would allow smarter and more effective
cleanup solutions at contaminated sites while continuing to ensure
protection on both human health and the environment.

DOD Cleanup Standards: Unlike either the private sector or any other
federal agency, current law requires a higher standard of cleanup for
DOD contaminated sites not on the National Priorities List (NPL). This
provision would apply the same standard to the cleanup of DOD's
non-NPL sites as is currently applied to the private sector and to
other federal agencies.

Clean Air Act Standards: In recognition of DOD's unique mission,
current law permits DOD with exemptions from the Clean Air Act in
consideration of military requirements such as live fire exercises or
off-road training. Based on the Administration's proposal to implement
more stringent Clean Air Act standards, this provision would ensure
the preservation of these existing exemptions in the future.

 [Material deleted.]

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