[CPEO-MEF] CSWAB UPDATE: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION!

[olah@speagle.com]

PRESS RELEASE
CSWAB UPDATE: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION!

For Immediate Release
June 15, 2001

For more information, contact:
Laura Olah, Executive Director, CSWAB (608) 643-3124


COMMUNITIES DEMAND PROTECTION FROM MILITARY POLLUTION
Groups Kick Off National Campaign With Report To Congress

MERRIMAC, WI -- Every day, the health and safety of communities across
the country are under assault from past and current polluting operations
of the U.S. Military.  Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB)
joins communities across the U.S. today in demanding that the military
be subjected to the same local, state and federal environmental, worker,
and public safety laws that govern other industrial and commercial
operations.

=93Impacts from unregulated military projects mean that communities
neighboring military bases have less environmental protection than other
communities just because they host the U.S. military,=94 said Laura Olah,
Executive Director of CSWAB, a group that was organized in 1990 by
neighbors of Badger Army Ammunition Plant after groundwater
contamination from the base was found in nearby private drinking water
wells.  =93Even when laws do apply to the military, regulators have little
or no ability to assess fines, shut down polluting operations, or
otherwise enforce compliance.=94

A report to Congress released today, published by the Environmental
Health Network and the Military Toxics Project, signals the kickoff of a
national Healthy Communities Campaign =AD a collaborative effort by
hundreds of communities across the nation affected by military
pollution.  Entitled Defend Our Health: The U.S. Military=92s
Environmental Assault, the report details how military exemptions from
laws and lax enforcement by regulatory agencies have produced more than
27,000 toxic hot spots on 8,500 military properties, including Wisconsin
=92s Badger Army Ammunition Plant and Fort McCoy.

=93Our military is above the law.  They simply don't have to abide by the
same rules as private
companies and individuals. They can pollute and poison with impunity.
In a democracy, it shouldn't be that way.  We're going to change it,=94
said Tara Thornton, Executive Director of the Military Toxics Project.

The groups also celebrate the introduction of legislation that seeks to
address the problem of
unequal enforcement of environmental and public safety laws.  U.S.
Congressman Bob Filner (D-
CA) has introduced a bill entitled the Military Environmental
Responsibility Act (MERA), which seeks to remove all military exemptions
from existing environmental, worker and public safety laws and
regulations.

=93The bill would clarify that U.S. EPA has full authority to enforce
military compliance with these laws, and would direct EPA to actively
use its authority,=94 Olah said.   =93The President could still utilize the
national security exemption to release the military from regulations
that would truly impair its combat effectiveness.=94

The MERA would make the U.S. Department of Defense, defense-related
agencies, and
defense contractors subject to all federal and state environmental,
worker, and public safety laws.  It would remove military exemptions
from the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, the Clean
Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and many other
important laws.

=93The U.S. Military should bear the same responsibility for environmental
and public health protection as private citizens and private companies,=94
Olah added.  =93This new legislation will ensure equal protection under
the law for military neighbors, civilian workers, and active duty
personnel.=94

CSWAB is inviting formal endorsements from individuals and other
organizations for the national
Healthy Communities Campaign.  Endorsement forms are available by
calling CSWAB at (608) 643-3124 or on their website at www.cswab.com.


Organizations participating in the Healthy Communities Campaign kickoff
today include:

Aberdeen Proving Ground Superfund Citizens Coalition	Aberdeen, MD
Activist San Diego	San Diego, CA
Alaska Community Action on Toxics	Statewide, AK
Arizona Safe Energy Coalition	Tucson, AZ
BANDU	Tucson, AZ
Citizens Research and Environmental Watch	Concord, MA
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger	Merrimac, WI
Columbia River Education and Economic Development	The Dalles, OR
Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques	Vieques, PR
Defense Depot Memphis, Tennessee Concerned Citizens Committee	Memphis,
TN
Environmental Health Coalition	San Diego, CA
Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America & the Caribbean
San Francisco, CA
GE Stockholders Alliance	Tucson, AZ
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Local 30	San Diego, CA
International Waterkeepers Alliance	Pensacola, FL
Just Transition Alliance	National
Military Toxics Project	National
Native Villages of Hooper Bay and Paimiut	Alaska
New Jersey Military Toxics Project	Springfield, NJ
Patriots for Peace	Shalimar, FL
Peace Resource Center of San Diego	San Diego, CA
Pennsylvania Environmental Network	Statewide, PA
Pine Bluff for Safe Disposal	Pine Bluff, AR
Raytheon Peacemakers	Tucson, AZ
School for Chiapas	San Diego, CA
Southwest Workers Union / Committee for Environmental Justice Action	San
Antonio, TX
Tucsonans for a Clean Environment	Tucson, AZ
Upper Cape Cod Concerned Citizens	Cape Cod, MA
Women=92s International League for Peace and Freedom, San Luis Obispo	San
Luis Obispo, CA
Women=92s International League for Peace and Freedom, Tucson Chapter
Tucson, AZ

--
Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay South
Merrimac, WI  53561
phone (608)643-3124
fax (608)643-0005 alt fax (608)643-2682
Email: olah@speagle.com
Website: http://www.cswab.com


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