Secrecy Suit Settled at APG

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

In late January, the Aberdeen Proving Ground Superfund Citizens
Coalition (APGSCC) settled its lawsuit with the Army over the sanitizing
of environmental restoration maps at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a
large, highly contaminated installation north of Baltimore. The
settlement once again provides detailed maps to the community Coalition
and other members of the Restoration Advisory Board. It resolves what
appeared to be difference within the Army, between the installation
restoration staff and the office responsible for operational security at
the base.

The heart of the settlement reads: "For documents which contain maps,
the United States shall provide Site specific maps that shall include
designations for monitoring wells, building footprints, street names,
sewage outfalls, institutional controls (fence lines that are intended
to restrict access to contaminated areas) and boundary fence lines,
creek names and locations, hazardous waste storage buildings, and the
locations of grass, concrete surfaces, gravel, and sandpits as
applicable to the section of the site represented by the map. The United
States may redact from the Maps fence lines used as security measures
and other structures used as security measures....

"The APGSCC agrees not to disseminate the maps on the internet or
otherwise release them to the public, except for the purpose as
described in this paragraph [overseeing the cleanup]."

APGSCC was represented by Prof. Rena Steinzor and her students at the
University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic. What a great way to
teach law!

Lenny
-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our 
important work on military and environmental issues will continue.  
Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
http://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0