[CPEO-MEF] AF eliminates paperwork, saves money

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

December 13, 2002
AF eliminates paperwork, saves money
by Staff Sgt. C. Todd Lopez
Air Force Print News

The Air Force is saving time and money by streamlining the paperwork
involved in environmental cleanup efforts. The Air Force has eliminated
a document called the land use control plan by including its contents in
another document, the record of decision, said Maureen Koetz, the deputy
assistant secretary of environment, safety and occupational health for
the service.

Like other federal agencies, the Air Force is held accountable for the
chemicals, solvents, fuels, oils and other products it spills into the
ground, Koetz said.

The process for cleaning up such spills involves a
studies-and-investigations phase that is capped off with a record of
decision, a report that is the culmination of all the studies, Koetz
said. The record of decision explains the results of the initial studies
and explains how the site will be cleaned up. The initial investigation
phase can be lengthy.

"We do know that on average, from the initial preliminary assessment to
the time of the record of decision, it is taking about 12 years in the
Air Force," Koetz said. If the cleanup leaves residual amounts of
contamination in place, federal regulators may require an additional set
of documents. The documents, called land-use control plans, describe
what can and cannot be done with the land following a cleanup. The
contents of the land-use control plan, Koetz said, are legally
enforceable and failure to comply with their contents is fineable.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.dcmilitary.com/airforce/beam/7_49/national_news/20692-1.html

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