[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS: Vieques (PR) Federal Facilities Agreement

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

News Release
U.S. EPA Region 2
March 25, 2008

Major Agreement for Vieques Cleanup Finalized


(San Juan, P.R.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
announced today the finalization of a federal facility inter-agency 
agreement (FFA) with several agencies and jurisdictions for the cleanup 
of portions of the Island of Vieques and its surrounding waters. The 
agreement is between EPA, the U.S. Department of Navy, U.S. Department 
of the Interior, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and it lays out 
the roles that the various agencies will play as the cleanup continues. 
EPA's Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg was joined by Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Donald R. Schregardus, as well as Carlos 
W. Lopez Freytes, President of the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality 
Board and Susan Silander, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Project Leader 
for the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, at EPA's 
offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico to mark the finalization of the agreement.

"Work has been proceeding at the site, but reaching an agreement with 
all the parties involved is a significant milestone," said Regional 
Administrator Steinberg. "The federal government agencies and the 
Commonwealth are on the same page on how we will move forward, and that 
will undoubtedly help in cleaning up this site to the benefit of all 
involved."

The agreement requires that the environmental impacts associated with 
past and present activities on Vieques and its surrounding waters be 
thoroughly investigated and that appropriate actions are taken in order 
to protect the community and the environment. The FFA will facilitate 
cooperation, exchange of information, and participation of all the 
parties involved.

"I am encouraged by the progress that has been made on Vieques, and 
pleased that the key government agencies have come together to sign an 
agreement that will help us expedite our restoration efforts," said 
Deputy Assistant Secretary Schregardus. "The agreement identifies roles, 
responsibilities, processes, and schedules we will follow to protect the 
people of Vieques and support approved land uses."

Mr. Lopez Freytes said, "The Agreement represents an achievement for the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico because it guarantees the involvement of the 
Environmental Quality Board, as co-regulators, on the decision-making 
process of the cleanup. Our agency is truly committed to having an 
active participation in order to ensure that the concerns of the 
community of Vieques are addressed, the local regulations are followed 
and the cleanup is fair and comprehensive."

Unexploded ordnance and remnants of exploded ordnance, which contain 
hazardous substances, have been identified in the former range areas of 
the eastern portion of the Vieques site, as well as in the surrounding 
waters. Extensive work has been performed to assess the conditions at 
the Vieques portion of the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Area site as 
a whole, and the FFA lays out the process for further investigation and 
cleanup.

"We are pleased to be part of the team that worked effectively together 
to develop the cleanup process in Vieques," said Ms. Silander. "Clearing 
the land of contaminants that may present a threat to wildlife, staff, 
visitors and residents of Vieques is vital. We look forward to 
continuing to work with all the other agencies and the community in this 
significant effort."

The U.S. Navy began using Vieques, in conjunction with Roosevelt Roads 
Naval Station on mainland Puerto Rico, in the early years of World War 
II, as a base for Allied fleets. Land was acquired in the eastern and 
western portions of Vieques between 1941 and 1943, with further 
acquisitions occurring during the late 1940s.

On the western portion of Vieques, the Navy operated an ammunition 
facility until 1948, when the facility ceased operations. It was 
reactivated in 1962 until its final closure in 2001. Later in that year, 
the Navy transferred 3,100 acres to the Department of Interior, 4,000 
acres to the Municipality of Vieques, and 800 acres to the Puerto Rico 
Conservation Trust.

The Navy also managed approximately 14,600 acres on the eastern portion 
of Vieques, which were used for amphibious training exercises and 
air-to-ground maneuvers. This portion of the island included a waste 
explosive detonation range, which was operated for many years in support 
of its training activities. Military training activities and associated 
support on the eastern portion of Vieques ceased in 2003, when the Navy 
transferred that portion to the Department of the Interior.

In February 2005, the Vieques portion of the proposed Atlantic Fleet 
Weapons Training Area site was placed on EPA's National Priorities List 
(NPL). The NPL is a list of the most hazardous waste sites in the 
country. The FFA process aims to guide the EPA in determining which 
areas of the site warrant further investigation. The proposed agreement 
was announced in September 2007 and for 45 days following the 
announcement, the agencies involved accepted comments during a public 
comment period. Those comments have been evaluated and the agencies have 
determined that the FFA is final.

For more information on the Vieques site, go to 
http://www.epa.gov/region02/vieques/, where you can find the finalized 
FFA, as well as the responses to public comments received on the FFA.

08-021



For the original press release, go to
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/ff6c1d016158a6b385257417005df74d?OpenDocument 

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
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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