[CPEO-MEF] Local government role at federal cleanupa court ruling

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The following comes from the Energy Communities Alliance:



COURT RULES LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE A ROLE IN  FEDERAL FACILITY CLEANUPS

In an important decision for local government involvement in  DOE, DOD
and other federal cleanups, a Federal District Court  in the Eastern
District of Washington ruled that pursuant to  CERCLA, local governments
have legal standing to be able to  participate in the planning and
selection of a remedy at a  CERCLA cleanup site. Specifically, local
governments pursuant  to CERCLA, 42 USC Section 9620(f) must be allowed
to participate in  the the planning and selection of the remedy at a
federal facility  site that is being cleaned up as a  "remedial action"
under  CERCLA, 42 USC Section 9620.  ECA and other local government 
groups have long maintained that local governments have a  specific
statutorily defined role in CERCLA cleanups at federal  facility cleanup
sites.  

CERCLA Section 9620(f) states: 

"(f) State and local participation 

The Administrator and each department, agency, or  instrumentality
responsible for compliance with this section shall  afford to relevant
State and local officials the opportunity to  participate in the
planning and selection of the remedial action,  including but not
limited to the review of all applicable data as it  becomes available
and the development of studies, reports, and  action plans. In the case
of State officials, the opportunity to  participate shall be provided in
accordance with section 9621 of  this title."

In City of Moses Lake v. United States of America, et al., the  Court
granted the City of Moses Lake a preliminary  injunction  against the
United States EPA and Army Corps (the federal  regulator and the federal
entity cleaning up the site for the US)  from formally issuing a
"interim" or "proposed" cleanup plan  without providing the City with 1)
the opportunity to review all  applicable data involving the site and 2)
the ability to participate  in the "decision -making" with regard to the
contaminated site.

ECA is developing a detailed memorandum on this case for its  members. 
Further this case and the impact on DOE cleanups  and local government
involvement will be discussed at the ECA  peer exchange on environmental
cleanup issues on January 19 

Local governments should work with their DOE site and EPA to  discuss
this important case and where the local governments  wants to be more
involved in the cleanup decision-making at  the DOE site, begin to work
with EPA and DOE to develop the  formal role for the local governments
in the decision making  process. 

-- 


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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