[CPEO-MEF] Media today: Bill could speed up Badger cleanup

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

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 
 
BILL COULD SPEED UP BADGER CLEANUP
Baraboo News Republic - Baraboo, WI, USA

A bill making its way through Congress would make the military beholden to
the same environmental standards as private businesses and individuals
 
A national coalition of advocacy groups says that would protect vulnerable
people from deadly diseases caused by military pollution.
 
It's unclear how the bill ? H.R. 672, cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Tammy
Baldwin, D-Madison ? might specifically impact cleanup efforts at the Badger
Army Ammunition Plant south of Baraboo.
 
But one local stakeholder says it would speed up the process, which has been
ongoing for more than a decade. The U.S. Army determined the 7,354-acre
plant was no longer needed in 1997.
 
"I think it will strengthen the state of Wisconsin and the (Environmental
Protection Agency) in requiring a timely and comprehensive cleanup," said
Laura Olah, executive director of Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger.
 
The Military Environmental Responsibility Act eliminates exemptions granted
to defense agencies under federal environmental laws ? such as the Clean Air
Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 ? and their state counterparts.
 
It also grants citizens the right to sue the heads of defense agencies and
other federal agencies who have failed to uphold the requirements of those
laws.
 
To read the whole story, go to:
http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/444398
 
 
--
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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