CSWAB UPDATE: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION!
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand’s Bay South Merrimac, WI 53561
Phone (608) 643-3124 Fax (608) 643-0005
www.cswab.com
For Immediate Release
June 15, 2001
For more information, contact:
Laura Olah, Executive Director, CSWAB (608) 643-3124
Communities Demand Protection From Military Pollution
Groups Kick Off National Campaign With Report To Congress
More about the Military Environmental Responsibility Act
MERRIMAC, WI -- Every day, the health and safety of communities across
the country are under assault from past and current polluting operations
of the U.S. Military. Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB)
joins communities across the U.S. today in demanding that the military
be subjected to the same local, state and federal environmental, worker,
and public safety laws that govern other industrial and commercial
operations.
“Impacts from unregulated military projects mean that communities
neighboring military bases have less environmental protection than
other
communities just because they host the U.S. military,” said Laura Olah,
Executive Director of CSWAB, a group that was organized in 1990 by
neighbors of Badger Army Ammunition Plant after groundwater
contamination from the base was found in nearby private drinking water
wells. “Even when laws do apply to the military, regulators have
little
or no ability to assess fines, shut down polluting operations, or
otherwise enforce compliance.”
A report to Congress released today, published by the Environmental
Health Network and the Military Toxics Project, signals the kickoff
of a
national Healthy Communities Campaign a collaborative effort
by
hundreds of communities across the nation affected by military
pollution. Entitled Defend Our Health: The U.S. Military’s
Environmental Assault, the report details how military exemptions from
laws and lax enforcement by regulatory agencies have produced more
than
27,000 toxic hot spots on 8,500 military properties, including Wisconsin
’s Badger Army Ammunition Plant and Fort McCoy.
“Our military is above the law. They simply don't have to abide
by the
same rules as private companies and individuals. They can pollute and
poison with impunity. In a democracy, it shouldn't be that way.
We're going
to change it,” said Tara Thornton, Executive Director of the Military
Toxics Project.
The groups also celebrate the introduction of legislation that seeks
to
address the problem of unequal enforcement of environmental and public
safety laws.
U.S. Congressman Bob Filner (D- CA) has introduced a bill entitled
the Military
Environmental Responsibility Act (MERA), which seeks to remove all
military exemptions
from existing environmental, worker and public safety laws and regulations.
“The bill would clarify that U.S. EPA has full authority to enforce
military compliance with these laws, and would direct EPA to actively
use its authority,” Olah said. “The President could still utilize the
national security exemption to release the military from regulations
that would truly impair its combat effectiveness.”
The MERA would make the U.S. Department of Defense, defense-related
agencies, and defense contractors subject to all federal and state
environmental,
worker, and public safety laws. It would remove military exemptions
from the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, the Clean
Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and many other
important laws.
“The U.S. Military should bear the same responsibility for environmental
and public health protection as private citizens and private companies,”
Olah added. “This new legislation will ensure equal protection
under
the law for military neighbors, civilian workers, and active duty
personnel.”
CSWAB is inviting formal endorsements from individuals and other
organizations for the national Healthy Communities Campaign.
Endorsement forms
are available by calling CSWAB at (608) 643-3124
or on their website at www.cswab.org.
Organizations participating in the Healthy Communities Campaign kickoff
today include:
Aberdeen Proving Ground Superfund Citizens Coalition Aberdeen, MD
Activist San Diego San Diego, CA
Alaska Community Action on Toxics Statewide, AK
Arizona Safe Energy Coalition Tucson, AZ
BANDU Tucson, AZ
Citizens Research and Environmental Watch Concord, MA
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger Merrimac, WI
Columbia River Education and Economic Development The Dalles, OR
Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques Vieques, PR
Defense Depot Memphis, Tennessee Concerned Citizens Committee Memphis,TN
Environmental Health Coalition San Diego, CA
Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America & the
Caribbean
San Francisco, CA
GE Stockholders Alliance Tucson, AZ
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Local 30 San Diego,
CA
International Waterkeepers Alliance Pensacola, FL
Just Transition Alliance National
Military Toxics Project National
Native Villages of Hooper Bay and Paimiut Alaska
New Jersey Military Toxics Project Springfield, NJ
Patriots for Peace Shalimar, FL
Peace Resource Center of San Diego San Diego, CA
Pennsylvania Environmental Network Statewide, PA
Pine Bluff for Safe Disposal Pine Bluff, AR
Raytheon Peacemakers Tucson, AZ
School for Chiapas San Diego, CA
Southwest Workers Union / Committee for Environmental Justice Action
San Antonio, TX
Tucsonans for a Clean Environment Tucson, AZ
Upper Cape Cod Concerned Citizens Cape Cod, MA
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Tucson Chapter,
Tucson, AZ
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand’s Bay South
Merrimac, WI 53561
(608) 643-3124 phone
(608) 643-0005 fax
info@cswab.org
www.cswab.org