[CPEO-MEF] Fwd: CSWAB UPDATE: Army Reins in Community Oversight of Groundwater Cleanup

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Laura Olah" <cswab@merr.com>
>
> July 9, 2012
>
> CSWAB UPDATE:
> Army Reins in Community Oversight of Groundwater Cleanup
>
> The Army has announced that it is disbanding and reorganizing the  
> local Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) for Badger Army Ammunition  
> Plant.  Comprised of representatives of local town, village and  
> county government and residents who live near Badger, the RAB was  
> organized almost 20 years ago by the Army and U.S. Environmental  
> Protection Agency.  This is the same community-led board that  
> successfully pushed for many of the enforceable conditions found in  
> a facility-wide permit that was just issued by the Wisconsin  
> Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).
>
> Late last week, the WDNR conditionally approved a proposal by the  
> U.S. Army to install a public water supply system and the phased  
> shut-down of active groundwater cleanup affecting three neighboring  
> rural townships.  The approval contains a significant number of  
> conditions that must be met and are the responsibility of the  
> Army.  The newly-formed RAB will be responsible for overseeing and  
> providing public comment on the Army’s compliance with these  
> conditions.
>
> To justify the board shakedown, the Army sought the assistance of  
> the same pricey Madison-based public relations firm that it hired  
> to promote municipal water as a solution to Badger's groundwater  
> woes.  Under the Army's direction, the firm conducted a small  
> survey of 30 pre-selected participants.  The resulting self- 
> generated report was predictably critical of the RAB and is being  
> used by the Army to justify its decision to dismantle and build a  
> new board.
>
> Current board members, including local government and residents who  
> live in the path of the contamination, will have to re-apply for a  
> position on the Army's new board.  The slate of new members will be  
> approved – or not – by the Army.  As a result, some members may be  
> booted off altogether after decades of volunteer service to the  
> community and environmental protection.
>
> Current members of the Badger RAB include Ron Lins (Town of Prairie  
> du Sac and RAB co-chair), Craig J. Hamilton (Town of Merrimac),  
> Laura Olah (Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger), Michele Hopp  
> (Village of Merrimac), Judy Ashford (Sauk County Board), Rick  
> Richard (Bluffview), Tim Colby (Town of Sumpter), Steve Hess (Town  
> of Baraboo), and William Wenzel (Village of Prairie du Sac).  Local  
> residents currently serving on the board include Mary Carol Solum,  
> Mary Jane Koch, Ken Lins, Chris Hanson, Charlie Wilhelm, Richard  
> Anderson, Lance Delaney, Bill Stehling and Laverne Kindschi.
>
> It's no coincidence that at a time when it is more important than  
> ever that citizens remain vigilant in protecting public health,  
> clean air, water, and land that the Army wants to derail the single  
> venue that residents have to sit down and regularly talk with  
> health officials, environmental regulators, and the military about  
> cleanup.
>
> While the WDNR's permit includes a multitude of conditions that the  
> Army will have to fulfill – if the Army has its way, no one will be  
> watching the henhouse.
>
> HOW YOU CAN HELP:
> To express your support for the current RAB, email: Robert Egan,  
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at egan.robert@epamail.epa.gov
>
> (As always, we only encourage emails that are courteous.)
>
> --
> Laura Olah, Executive Director
> Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB)
> E12629 Weigand's Bay South
> Merrimac, WI  53561
> (608)643-3124
> info@cswab.org
> www.cswab.org
>
>
>
>
>
> Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger is a community-led grassroots  
> organization working for clean water and a healthy future – free of  
> environmental toxins that are affecting delicate wetland areas,  
> natural springs, waterways and groundwater in rural Wisconsin.  
> CSWAB was organized in 1990 by neighbors of Badger Army Ammunition  
> Plant when high levels of cancer-causing chemicals were discovered  
> in nearby private drinking water wells.  The group is working to  
> assure the complete cleanup of solvents, explosives and other  
> toxins that have placed ecological and human health at risk.


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