GASP
Oregon Wildlife Federation
Sierra Club
GROUPS BLAST GOVERNOR KITZHABER'S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
Once again Governor John Kitzhaber demonstrated that Eastside Oregon political and environmental issues aren't important for Westside politicians. Three environmental groups: GASP, Oregon Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club filed suit against the State of Oregon last August over the proposed incineration of over seven million pounds of chemical warfare agent near Hermiston, OR, at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.
They are concerned that the process of incineration will release untreated nerve agents, heavy metals and dioxin products into the richest agricultural lands of the Columbia Basin. Workers, consumers and markets may be damaged. In addition, they express concern regarding the generation of a potential 13 pounds of hazardous waste for every pound of agent treated and question the State's decision to implement incineration as a disposal method.
An attorney for the plaintiffs, Stuart Sugarman stated, "We are suing the State of Oregon under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to ensure that all Oregonians understand actions the State is preparing to take, in concert with the US Army." He added, "The state regulator, in the case the Department of Environmental Quality, is charged to protect Oregon's interests, yet we are forced to seek legal redress in a court of law." The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act provides the legal framework for hazardous materials management, use and disposal.
In recent actions, the State of Oregon requested that the court designate the lawsuit as a complex case and that various passages of the suit be stricken from the record. However, the plaintiffs won on both requests when the court denied the petitions. The original lawsuit alleges that negative health outcomes, environmental degradation and economic market downturns will occur if the State and the Army pursue its current course of action. While proponents of the incineration process focus on the risk of continued storage, the plaintiffs allege that this red herring only detracts from the public debate regarding disposal options.
A plaintiff in the suit, Susan Jones, a Hermiston resident and local school teacher, stated, "With all the recent clamor generated by the federal government's failure to cleanup Hanford, we in Oregon are about to make the same mistakes made decades ago at that site." The then added, "If our leaders listened to those directly impacted by the Depot, we could make sound political decisions in an effort to avoid creating Oregon's own little Hanford." Her remarks about the Hanford Nuclear Reservation included recent revelations regarding contaminated groundwater flowing into the Columbia River, decisions to re-start nuclear bomb factories and lack of funding for public health activities.
"Not to diminish that the Willamette River and salmon restoration are important issues," stated Bob Palzer, Ph.D. with the Sierra Club, "but we're concerned that there are other critical environmental and political issues which this administration continues to ignore on the Eastside of the State." He also noted that Peter DeFazio (Dem.--4th District) took a leadership role on this issue but seemed to reach an impasse with other state leaders. "I applaud the Congressman's efforts on behalf of all Oregonians."
While other efforts across the nation involve alternative technologies or Congressional blocks on funds provided for construction, the incinerators at the Umatilla Chemical Depot are well under construction. On this issue, the Governor, through his lack of leadership, continues to lead the State of Oregon to become the nation's dumping ground for lethal nerve agents. The plaintiffs remain hopeful that the courts, through their deliberative processes, will provide the incentive to the State and the Army to implement alternatives to incineration before the taxpayer is left with Oregon's own Hanford.
Points of Contact:
Stuart Sugarman 503-234-2694
Susan Jones 541-567-6579
Bob Palzer 541-482-2492
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