FEDS COMPROMISE ON RANGE RULE

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

RANGE RULE COMPROMISE AMONG FEDERAL AGENCIES

The July 1, 1997 issue of DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL ALERT reported that 
federal agencies have resolved their differences over the Range Rule, 
which the Defense Department will officially propose later this year 
(as early as this summer) to govern the identification and remediation 
of closed munitions impact ranges. The two major federal land 
management agencies - the Departments of Interior and Agriculture - had 
been pushing for some time to win assurances that the Defense 
Department would return to conduct (and pay for) additional cleanup 
should new uses - such as the construction of pipelines, campgrounds, 
or visitor centers - require more clearance to protect public safety.

There is no public language yet, but from what I have been able to find 
out there are four key new points in the agreement:

1) If land use is limited by the initial absence of a technology to 
clear unexploded ordnance, the Defense Department will revisit the 
remedy when better technologies are available. That is, the "reasonably 
anticipated future land use" will not be determined by the initial response.

2) If transfer to another federal agency is NOT mandated by law, and 
the prospective federal recipient rejects the Defense Department's 
remediation strategy, Defense may look for another federal agency to 
take the property or simply retain it.

3) DOD may determine that a remedy (or response) "fails" if too many 
people move close to munitions-contaminated ranges, and thus be 
required to develop a new, more protective response.

4) If the land management agencies want to upgrade the use of 
munitions-contaminated areas and Defense doesn't agree, the Office of 
Management and the Budget will facilitate a decision based upon 
criteria such as the importance of the proposed new use, the 
availability of alternative parcels of property, and the size of the 
remediation budget. EPA will play a part in any such resolution.

Lenny Siegel