Sen. Shelby on Ft. McClellan UXO

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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Press Release

SHELBY CALLS FOR ARMY SECRETARY'S IMMEDIATE ATTENTION TO UXO CASE AT FT. McCLELLAN

Contact: Virginia Davis ...
Friday, August 27, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC -- In a letter to Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee,
U.S. Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) today asked for the Army's
immediate involvement into the alleged incidents of Tetra Tech-Foster
Wheeler hiding found unexploded ordnance (UXO) at the former Fort
McClellan in Anniston.

Senator Shelby's letter to Secretary Brownlee is attached below:

The Honorable Les Brownlee
Acting Secretary of the Army
The Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0102

Dear Secretary Brownlee, 

A troubling situation has recently come to my attention and I believe
that it requires immediate attention. Tetra Tech-Foster Wheeler, was
awarded a contract by the Army for unexploded ordnance (UXO) remediation
at the former Fort McClellan in Anniston, Alabama. It has been alleged
that Tetra Tech-Foster Wheeler has engaged in a blatant attempt to
circumvent the contract by illegally hiding found UXO rather than
destroying them according to required procedure.

Repeated incidents such as those alleged at the former Fort McClellan,
as well as similar incidents by the same contractor at other locations,
have severely damaged the confidence of state regulators and the local
community. At this point, my constituents no longer believe that Army
contractors will be able to successfully complete the cleanup of UXO at
Fort McClellan. I believe that such mistrust within the local community
will translate into significant and costly time delays for the
completion of this cleanup, and may very well taint the reuse potential
of the affected property. I do not believe that these outcomes are in
the best interests of the Army or the citizens of Anniston or Calhoun
County, who are shouldering more than their fair share of
defense-related environmental risks.

In light of the emerging situation, I believe that serious consideration
should be given to an expansion of the Army's successful privatization
effort already underway at Fort McClellan to include the remainder of
the unexploded ordnance cleanup. Such a collaborative effort coupled
with more significant involvement by the Joint Powers Authority (JPA)
could minimize delays and restore much needed confidence in the entire process.

I am very concerned about this situation and want to know that every
effort is being made to correct, what in my view is a significant
problem with the clean-up at Fort McClellan. I am scheduled to visit
Fort McClellan in the coming weeks and anticipate receiving your prompt
reply so that I may assure the community that the Army is working
towards an acceptable resolution to this situation. 

Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. 

Sincerely, 




Richard Shelby

- 30 -

for the original press release, see
http://shelby.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=225591

-- 


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

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