[CPEO-MEF] New legislation proposed to repeal anti-environmental rider in

[mtptara@ime.net]

Dear Friends,
As most of you know, President Clinton signed into law the Defense 
Appropriations bill for FY 2000.  Section 8149 of the appropriations bill, 
exempts the Department of Defense from paying civil penalties for 
violations of environmental law, unless Congress specifically approves. 
Many concerned citizens and community groups have expressed their concern 
and have called upon their government officials to repeal this 
anti-environmental rider.  Congressmen Delahunt (D-MA) has just sponsored 
legislation which calls for the repeal.  Below is a draft bill and a Dear 
Colleague letter.  There are currently 31 Co-Sponsors of the Delahunt bill. 
 Corinne Young is staff person in Delahunts office working on this, call 
202-225-3111 or Email Corinne.Young@mail.house.gov, for more information.

Sincerely,
Tara Thornton
Military Toxics Project


October 29, 1999

Dear Colleague:

As you may have noticed, anti-environmental appropriations riders are becoming
a congressional cottage industry.  From ESA salmon exemptions in the Commerce
bill to legislative blessing for toxic dumping in the Interior package, I
thought I'd seen it all.

Then I came across two lines slipped into the DOD appropriations measure during
conference deliberations, without benefit of either House or Senate review. 
Once you see the provision, you'll see why its authors avoided hearings.  It is
a breathtaking attack on federal environmental enforcement, with serious
consequences for a Superfund cleanup in my congressional district -- and
perhaps yours as well. 

I am writing today to invite your cosponsorship of a bill to repeal this
provision.

Section 8149 of HR 2561 would prohibit the Pentagon from paying fines arising
from violations of environmental safeguards at military installations -- and
from funding "supplemental environmental projects" in lieu of penalties.

At stake is the capacity of the EPA and Justice Department to enforce pollution
standards with the tools essential to back up their sanctions. As a former
District Attorney, I know that if violators can ignore penalties, statutory
standards become meaningless. And as if its impact on the federal level is not
serious enough, this provision will also hamstring state enforcement. 

This is a question we have already addressed with bipartisan clarity.  In 1992,
by near-unanimous votes, the House and Senate approved the Federal Facilities
Compliance Act. Signed into law by President Bush, it made clear our aversion
to a double standard for the Pentagon. The Congress reasserted this principle
--  that environmental standards apply to public as well as private facilities
--  in 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The DOD rider re-opens, and widens, the polluter loophole explicitly closed at
least twice.
   
This provision is of particular urgency to me because of its potential impact
at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, an installation spanning four
communities on Cape Cod.  Because of past federal activities at the base,
plumes of toxic pollution now constitute a direct threat to the area's public
and economic health -- exacerbating already-serious water supply constraints. 
In the few minutes it takes to review this Dear Colleague,thousands of gallons
of water in the sole-source aquifer beneath the base will be contaminated
further. 

To its credit, the Defense Department has made enormous progress over the last
two years toward addressing the complex and expensive task of containing this
pollution.  One catalyst for this momentum has been ongoing and aggressive EPA
oversight.  This consensus derives from public confidence in the commitment and
capacity of federal enforcement mechanisms.  The blanket exemption contained in
the Defense Appropriations rider will irresponsibly degrade that confidence --
and disrupt the pace of remediation work.

In my view, its prohibition cuts the teeth -- and heart -- out of state and
federal environmental enforcement.  I realize the odds of repealing this
provision are steep, and would welcome your help.  For details or to cosponsor
our bill, please call Corinne Young of my staff at 5-3111.

                                        Sincerely,
                                        William D. Delahunt

   

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