October 28, 2004
Alaska Community Action on Toxics,
Chickaloon Tribe, Cook Inlet Keeper, and Military Toxics Project
Announce Critical Agreement with DOD to Protect Lands and Waters at
Fort Richardson,
Alaska
Press release pasted below.
To view all the documents, including the press release and settlement
agreement, visit:
http://www.defendourhealth.org/fort_rich.htm
or http://www.akaction.org
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Plaintiff Groups Reach Critical Agreement
with Department of Defense to Protect Lands and Waters at Fort
Richardson, Alaska
October 28, 2004
Contact:
Pamela Miller, Alaska
Community Action on Toxics, (907) 222-7714
Janet Daniels, Chickaloon Tribe, (907) 274-6011
Tara Thornton, Military Toxics Project, (207) 783-5091
Anchorage, AK.
After two years of intense negotiations with the Department of Defense
(DoD), Plaintiff groups today announced an agreement that will provide
significant protections to water quality, fish, wildlife, and human
health at Fort Richardson in Alaska.
In April
2002,
Alaska Community Action on Toxics,
the
Chickaloon Village Traditional
Council,
Cook Inlet Keeper, and
Military Toxics Project sued the U.S. Department of Defense over its
bombing activities at Eagle River Flats that harm water quality and
pose a toxic and safety hazard to local Indigenous subsistence users
and nearby residents. Despite the presence of 10,000 pieces of
unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Eagle River Flats on Fort Richardson, the
Army refused to address the dangers posed by the presence of UXO. The
Army's discharges of munitions into the Eagle River Flats release
harmful chemicals such as RDX, 2,4-DNT, heavy metals, and other high
explosive and propellant compounds. In 1994, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) placed Fort Richardson on the national
"Superfund" list of the most polluted sites in the nation.
Pentagon
officials have used the Plaintiffs' legal action to argue for military
exemptions from environmental and public health laws in their testimony
before Congress.
"We are
happy to finally be able to correct the Pentagon's mischaracterization
of our claim," stated Janet Daniels, of the Chickaloon Tribe. "We never
wanted to go to court; it was our very last resort. Ten years of the
Army's refusal to acknowledge the problem, and ten years of the state's
and EPA's refusal to act to protect our health left us no choice but to
seek justice through the courts. Let's be clear: the Army forced us to
go to court by poisoning our lands and waters, endangering our health
and our way of life, and refusing to acknowledge or fix the problem."
Key
provisions of the agreement between the Plaintiff groups and the
Department of Defense filed in court today include:
-
Monitoring the
health and behavior of beluga whales in and around Eagle River Flats;
-
Additional
protection to ensure that beluga whales are not harmed by military
activities;
-
Water quality
monitoring for toxic chemicals associated with military munitions
firing;
-
Provisions for
enhanced community right-to-know and documentation about military
munitions firing activities at Fort Richardson and chemical
constituents of munitions;
-
Restrictions on
munitions firing activities to protect migratory birds;
-
Prompt cleanup
of munitions that fall outside the immediate impact area of Eagle River
Flats;
-
Feasibility
study to determine potential for substitution of safer munitions in
order to minimize environmental impacts;
-
The Army will
obtain a Clean Water Act permit for its munitions discharges;
-
The Army will
initiate Government-to-Government consultations with Upper Cook Inlet
Tribes;
-
Provisions to
allow the Plaintiffs to engage independent experts to study the
environmental impacts of the bombing and to recommend measures to avoid
those impacts.
"We are
pleased this agreement recognizes the importance of the depleted Cook
Inlet beluga whale," stated Bob Shavelson, Executive Director of Cook
Inlet Keeper. "Homeland security starts at home, and this settlement
takes steps to ensure that our beluga whale survives for generations to
come."
"No
federal agency should be above the law, especially the laws that
protect the public's health and safety," said Tara Thornton, Executive
Director of the Military Toxics Project. "This lawsuit and our
successful settlement was never about training, it was about people in
the United States living near military installations deserving equal
protection under the law. Our settlement proves that protection of the
environment and military readiness are not mutually exclusive."
"It
doesn't matter if you are Native or non-Native, military or civilian.
Everyone has a right to clean air, clean water, and uncontaminated
food," stated Janet Daniels.
"This
settlement will protect the environment against future degradation from
the Army's bombing practice at Eagle River Flats without restricting
military training," said Scott Allen, the Plaintiffs' attorney from Cox
and Moyer in San Francisco. "The agreement is a true win-win situation
for both sides," Allen said.
"This
agreement shows that the military can comply with environmental laws
and doesn't need extra exemptions," stated Becca Bernard, Legal
Director of the Alaska-based public interest law firm, Trustees for Alaska, which also
represented the Plaintiffs.
Additional
contacts:
Bob Shavelson,
Executive Director, Cook Inlet Keeper, (907) 235-4068
(extension 22)
Tara Thornton,
Executive Director, Military Toxics Project, (207) 783-5091
Scott Allen,
Attorney representing Plaintiff groups, Cox and Moyer, (415)
543-9464
Becca Bernard,
Legal Director, Trustees for Alaska, (907) 276-4244 x 110
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