[CPEO-MEF] Boxer prods Army on local water woes

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California
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SUN
Boxer prods Army on local water woes
Senator urges three agencies to focus on perchlorate aid
By ANDREW SILVA, Staff Writer

RIALTO - Seeking more aggressive help for the city's perchlorate
problem, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., sent three letters to top federal
officials Wednesday, including the secretary of the Army.
The military has not admitted responsibility for any water pollution
problems in the San Bernardino Valley.

Rialto Public Works Director Brad Baxter praised both Boxer and Sen.
Dianne Feinstein, also D-Calif., for their deep involvement in the
issue.

Rialto, Fontana, Colton and Bloomington have a total of 20 wells
contaminated by perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient known to reduce
thyroid function and suspected of interfering with the proper
development of fetuses and babies.

Boxer's letter to Army Secretary Thomas White asks that the Army give
the Rialto problem a high priority for investigation because a former
weapons depot that operated on the site near the current Mid-Valley
Landfill is suspected of being a source of perchlorate contamination.

She also asks the Army to help pay for the cost of the cleanup and
investigation.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~1376294,00.html

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