Nation’s Worst Polluters

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Published on Thursday, July 3, 2008 by the Las Vegas Sun

Nation’s Worst Polluters

Pentagon officials defy EPA and refuse to clean up contaminating

military bases

 

Editorial

When it comes to entities that pollute the nation’s environment, the

Defense Department is at the top of the Environmental Protection

Agency’s list. But Pentagon and military officials are defying the

EPA’s orders to clean up toxins being emitted by at least three

military bases.

 

The bases — Fort Meade in Maryland, Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida

and McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey — are among 129 military

sites on the EPA’s Superfund list of the nation’s most polluted

places, 13 of which have no cleanup plans.

 

The Defense Department has rejected the EPA’s orders to clean up the

bases in Maryland, Florida and New Jersey, which EPA officials suspect

are leaking contaminants into soil and the water supply.

 

Pentagon officials, meanwhile, have refused to sign agreements for how

the other 10 sites will be cleaned up. Under federal law, the EPA

requires Superfund polluters to sign agreements describing how

cleanups will be conducted, schedules for the work and penalties for

missed deadlines.

 

The EPA has the authority to lodge fines and even sue polluters that

don’t comply, but the Pentagon has refused to acknowledge that

authority. In May, military officials sent letters to the Office of

Management and Budget and the Justice Department disputing the EPA’s

authority to force the cleanups.

 

In a letter to the EPA last week, members of the House Energy and

Commerce Committee asked for a full accounting of what actions have

been taken to ensure the military complies with the cleanup orders.

 

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the committee, said Monday it

is “troubling†that the Defense Department is “in flagrant violationâ€

of the EPA’s orders and that military officials are “attempting to

circumvent the law and Congress’ intent†by calling on other federal

officials to intervene.

 

This defiance on the part of Defense Department officials is stunning

and shameful. It should not be tolerated. Superfund sites aren’t just

dirty spots; they are the most toxic places in the country and pose

significant risks to the health of the environment and the American

people.

 

© Las Vegas Sun, 2008

 

 

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