Re: Sunflower Army Munitions Plant - FOSET -Reply

[Vicky Peters <hwpetevl@dolsmtp.dol.state.co.us>]

Clearly true.  Witness EPA's official position on CERCLA sovereign
immunity -- despite the fact that it has gone on record
acknowleging that it is incapable of enforcing against its sister
agencies. EPA has a long and sordid history of caving in to DOD
pressure.

>>> BPS <kutak_r@ix.netcom.com> 08/02/99 07:11pm >>>

The clear import of your comment is that the Kansas Department
of Health
and Environment is somehow not capable of "independent
oversight." I
could not disagree  with that strongly enough. There are certainly
an
abundance of instances when USEPA has not covered itself with
glory. The
suggestion that only a federal agency, headquartered in
Washington with
regional feifdoms , is the only way to get independent oversight of
any
activity  ignores the record of state regulatory oversight and
enforcement. EPA does an okay job in a lot of areas, but it is not
necessarily the best agency for everything. The record of the
relationship between EPA and DoD does not suggest that EPA is
always
"independent" of DoD's interests.

> It's my understanding that only the Governor (of Kansas) need
approve
> the "covenant deferral," or Early Transfer, of the Sunflower Army
> Ammunition Plant. U.S. EPA is not directly involved.
>
> That's because Sunflower is not on the "Superfund" National
Priorities
>
> List. Its Hazard Ranking Score is high enough, but listing was
> deferred.
> I do not know the intention of those who kept it off the list, but
the
>
> consequence was to deny the citizens of Kansas the promise of
> independent oversight of the transfer.
>
> Lenny
> --
>
> 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