[CPEO-MEF] Badger Ammo plan consultant gagged

["Laura Olah" <cswab@merr.com>]

BADGER AMMO PLAN CONSULTANT GAGGED
Army said independent expert can't issue recommendation on cleanup proposal

By Anita Weier, Capital Times Newspaper  ?  9/11/2008 9:28 am 

WISCONSIN -- Should an independent expert advising a citizens group about a
proposed cleanup method for a contaminated site be able to express a
professional opinion?

The way the Army sees it, the answer is "no." An expert paid for by the Army
to analyze an upcoming cleanup proposal for a section of the Badger Army
Ammunition Plant near Baraboo should only provide pros and cons, not a
recommendation, say Army officials.

The 7,354-acre plant site, contaminated by years of explosives manufacturing
from 1942 to 1975, was declared excess property by the Army 10 years ago,
and is being decontaminated prior to its turnover to the state Department of
Natural Resources, the Ho-Chunk and other agencies.

Laura Olah, a member of the Badger Restoration Advisory Board that
represents community members in the area, says that restricting an expert's
advice could limit his or her ability to do an adequate job. Sen. Herb Kohl,
D-Wisconsin, shares Olah's concerns and has asked the U.S. Department of
Defense to look into the matter.

Under the federally funded Technical Assistance for Public Participation
(TAPP) program, 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.
This summer the Badger Restoration Advisory Board asked for Army funding to
hire a consultant to review a feasibility study being done by contractor
SpecPro for cleanup at one of the contaminated sites on the plant. The study
will evaluate cleanup methods for now-dry settling ponds that were
contaminated with lead, mercury, explosives and other toxins.

"Residual soil contaminants could pose a risk to groundwater quality,
wildlife, food crops and grazing animals such as cattle, deer and bison,"
said Olah, who chairs the board's TAPP committee and represents Citizens for
Safe Water Around Badger. "An independent consultant will help the board
identify solutions that are in the best long-term interest of public health
and the environment. We expect that the Army will propose either no or
minimal cleanup -- leaving the majority of soil contamination in place."
 
To read the complete story, go to:
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/304317

 
 
--
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
 

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