[CPEO-MEF] REGULATION: Senators demand answers

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Press Release of Senator Menendez

[For the original release and documents, go to
http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=300001&;]

TOXIC CHEMICALS AT McGUIRE AFB: SENS. MENENDEZ AND LAUTENBERG DEMAND 
ANSWERS, SEEK TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH

Menendez, Lautenberg, Mikulski, Cardin, Bill Nelson call on Defense 
officials to explain why EPA regulations have been ignored; Menendez, 
Lautenberg and Nelson also ask GAO to investigate

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Washington Post yesterday reported on a battle between 
the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency over 
the cleanup of toxic chemicals on three military bases across the 
country, including McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. The EPA is 
concerned that the chemicals pose "imminent and substantial" threats to 
both the health of nearby residents and to the environment, but the 
Pentagon has refused to abide by the law, and will not accede to the 
EPA's cleanup orders.

In response, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), 
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) are 
demanding answers from the Pentagon on its lack of willingness to clean 
up the potentially-cancer causing chemicals that it released into the 
ground and groundwater. Additionally, Senators Menendez, Lautenberg and 
Nelson have requested that the Government Accountability Office 
investigate the Pentagon's lack of compliance.

Senator Menendez said: "People who happen to live near a military base 
must be given the peace of mind that the ground they walk on and the 
water they drink is free of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals. It seems 
that the Department of Defense is trying to avoid its cleanup 
responsibilities or is more interested in winning a Washington turf 
battle than the health of our citizens, and that is simply outrageous. 
We need an official investigation as well as direct answers from the 
Secretary of Defense to better explain exactly why residents of New 
Jersey and elsewhere are being put at risk."

Senator Lautenberg said: "We need to protect the communities in and 
around McGuire Air Force Base from dangerous chemicals. The Pentagon 
cannot ignore the potential health and environmental threats of the 
chemical contaminants in the water and soil surrounding McGuire and 
other bases. I will fight to ensure the Pentagon and the EPA protect our 
residents and clean up these sites."

Senator Mikulski said: "This issue affects not only Fort Meade, McGuire 
Air Force Base and Tyndall Air Force Base - but the thousands of people 
living, working, praying and playing on base and in nearby communities. 
I am very disappointed in the Defense Department's (DOD) lack of 
response to the EPA's orders. We need to cut through the red tape and 
make sure that this clean up is conducted in the sunshine," said Senator 
Mikulski. "I urge the DOD to respond to our inquiry - but more 
importantly - to remove the chokepoints holding up this important process."

Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works 
Committee, said: "The Department of Defense is an important part of many 
communities across the country, like Ft. Meade, and they must be a 
responsible neighbor. DOD is not above the law and is not exempt from 
EPA regulations. The sites outlined in the Washington Post article pose 
an immediate hazard to the health and safety of Americans, and I urge 
the DOD to take immediate steps to comply with EPA's cleanup efforts."

Senator Nelson said: "The Pentagon cannot just pick and choose which 
federal laws apply to them. We need to get to the bottom of this and if 
they don't comply with the EPA then Congress may have to step in."

Under law, the EPA Administrator has final say in environmental disputes 
with other federal departments and agency, such as this one.

McGuire AFB was added to the Superfund's National Priorities List (NPL) 
in 1999. There, the DOD has found toxins including PCBs, jet fuel, 
pesticides, volatile compounds, and TCE. TCE, in particular, is a 
carcinogen known for seeping into drinking water.

PDF of letter to DOD: 
http://menendez.senate.gov/pdf/063008LettertoSecretaryGates.pdf

PDF of letter to GAO: 
http://menendez.senate.gov/pdf/063008GAOletteronpollutioncleanup.pdf




Text of letter to DOD:_June 30, 2008

The Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
U.S. Department of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington DC, 20460

Dear Secretary Gates:

We are alarmed by recent reports that the Pentagon is obstructing 
efforts to clean up pollution at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, 
Fort Meade in Maryland, and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.

Your efforts to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 
overseeing the cleanup of toxic pollution at all three locations could 
endanger public health and harm the environment. This is unacceptable, 
and we urge you to rethink your strategy.

The EPA has found that pollutants which "present an imminent and 
substantial danger to the public health or welfare" have been released 
or are about to be released. For instance, at McGuire AFB the Department 
of Defense (DOD) has found toxins including PCBs, jet fuel, pesticides, 
volatile compounds, and TCE. TCE, in particular, is a carcinogen known 
for seeping into drinking water. Investigations at the Fort George G. 
Meade site revealed contaminants including solvents, pesticides, PCBs, 
heavy metals, waste fuels and waste oils as well as unexploded ordnance.

The Department of Defense has known about these problems for over 20 
years. These sites have been listed as Superfund sites for almost 10 
years. Yet the department has failed to act in an aggressive fashion to 
address these issues. Instead recent actions suggest an apparent attempt 
to minimize the problem, with the department going so far as to 
undermine efforts to set TCE limits for drinking water.

The EPA understands the hazards posed to the residents of our home 
states. To their credit, they realized that the DOD's "voluntary 
cleanup" was simply a delay tactic, telling the Washington Post: "Under 
DOD's management, some of these sites have languished for years, with 
limited or no cleanup" ("Pentagon Fights EPA on Pollution Cleanup," June 
30, 2008). As a result, the EPA issued "final orders" to develop a 
remediation plan and schedule.

The Department of Defense appears to be refusing to recognize the law, 
and has denied the EPA's authority by refusing to sign the final orders. 
According to reports, you are going so far as to ask the Department of 
Justice to challenge the EPA and the Office of Management and Budget to 
intervene. The intent of the law and of Congress is clear: the EPA has 
authority over the DOD in cleanup disputes.

Other Federal Agencies have had no problem understanding the law, and 
have signed similar final orders. Indeed, numerous military 
installations are included on the Superfund list and many of them have 
signed final orders in the past. Current reports that the Department is 
failing to abide by the law and past practice in the responsible cleanup 
of hazardous waste sites are deeply troubling.

We would like to know why your department is endangering public health, 
and we would like an immediate reply. We would like to know:

• Why is the DOD refusing to sign the EPA's final orders?
• Why has such little progress been made on cleaning up these sites?
• What has the DOD requested from the Department of Justice and OMB?
• Why has the DOD resisted EPA efforts to set pollution standards for 
perchlorate and TCE?
• When will clean up at these three sites be completed?

These concerns are not limited to the three bases in our home states, 
but have arisen at another 12 Superfund sites and at thousands of bases 
throughout the country. The Department of Defense appears willing to go 
to great lengths to avoid these cleanups.

We impress upon you that health and lives of Americans are at stake, and 
urge you to act immediately.

Sincerely Yours,

ROBERT MENENDEZ United States Senator
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG United States Senator
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN United States Senator
BILL NELSON_United States Senator
BARBARA A. MIKULSKI United States Senator




Text of letter to GAO:

June 30, 2008

Gene Dodaro
Acting Comptroller General of the United States_Government 
Accountability Office
441 G St., NW
Washington, DC 20548

Dear Comptroller Dodaro:

We are writing to express our grave concern over recent reports that the 
Department of Defense (DOD) is refusing to sign final orders issued by 
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up toxic chemicals 
dumped around McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, Fort Meade in 
Maryland, and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida ("Pentagon Fights EPA on 
Pollution Cleanup," The Washington Post, June 30, 2008). We ask that you 
begin an investigation into this apparent disregard of not only the 
EPA's statutory authority to enforce such action, but also public health 
and safety.

These bases are all listed as Superfund sites, meaning that the 
chemicals dumped around these bases pose "present an imminent and 
substantial danger to the public health or welfare." Some of the 
chemicals in question are known to cause cancer or other serious health 
problems, yet DOD has failed to act aggressively as they slowly seep 
into the soil and drinking water aquifers, threatening environmental 
problems for generations to come.

DOD has claimed that it is voluntarily cleaning up all three sites. EPA 
has the legal authority and practical expertise to assess DOD's efforts, 
and has deemed them insufficient. Rather than working with EPA to 
determine what more could be done to protect public health and safety, 
DOD has blocked EPA at every turn, refusing to recognize the law and 
challenging EPA's authority.

As a result, EPA has been forced to issue a final order, which legal 
experts recognize as their most potent enforcement tool. Such an order 
requires a polluter to follow the EPA's recommendation for cleanup. 
Other governmental agencies, including NASA and the Department of 
Energy, have previously complied with EPA's final orders. DOD itself has 
signed final orders in the past, but refuses to do so now.

We urge you to conduct an immediate investigation into the DOD's refusal 
to sign the EPA's final orders regarding the pollution at McGuire Air 
Force Base, Tyndall Air Force Base, and Fort Meade. Specifically, we 
hope that you will review whether DOD has failed to comply with federal 
law, and what needs to be done to ensure the DOD cooperates with the EPA 
in future final orders.

Thank you for your attention to this issue, and we look forward to your 
response.

Sincerely,


ROBERT MENENDEZ United States Senator
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG United States Senator
BILL NELSON_United States Senator

                # # #



--


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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