CSWAB
UPDATE:
SENATOR
TO PRESS ARMY ON TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR BADGER ADVISORY BOARD
U.S. Senator Herb
Kohl is questioning the Department of Defense on the Army’s recent decision
to restrict the type of advice that can be offered by independent experts working
with the Badger Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) – a citizen panel that
represents local and tribal government and neighbors of the contaminated
munitions plant.
Under the DOD-funded
Technical Assistance for Public Participation (TAPP) program, established by
legislation co-sponsored by Kohl, the military service responsible for a
contaminated site pays for independent technical advisers for local communities
dealing with the complex technical issues involved in cleanups.
Earlier this summer,
the RAB voted to apply for Army funding to hire a consultant to review an
upcoming feasibility study for cleanup at one of the largest contaminated areas
inside Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The study will evaluate possible
remedies for a series of settling ponds located along the installation’s
southern boundary. Soils in the ponds and adjacent dredge disposal sites are
contaminated with high levels of lead, mercury, explosives, and other
environmental toxins. The total affected area is about 60
acres.
Kohl has taken up
the issue with DOD by forwarding a letter from Laura Olah,
chair of the TAPP Committee and representative for Citizens for Safe Water Around
Badger (CSWAB) on the RAB. The August 23 letter questions the Army’s
modification of the RAB’s application by adding language which forbids
consultants from expressing professional opinions for or against the military’s
chosen investigative or cleanup methods.
The RAB is concerned
that residual soil contaminants could pose a risk to groundwater quality,
wildlife, food crops, and grazing animals such as cattle, deer, and bison.
An independent consultant will help the board identify solutions that are in
the best long-term interest of public health and the environment.
Members
of the local RAB want their consultant to be able to express
a
professional opinion on possible remedies at the contaminated
Settling
Ponds area at Badger Army Ammunition Plant.
-END-
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Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe
Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay
South
Merrimac, WI 53561
(608)643-3124
Email: info@cswab.org
Website:
www.cswab.org