March 12, 2004
The Honorable Michael R. Leavitt Dear Administrator Leavitt: On February 5, 2004, we wrote to you expressing our serious concerns about restrictions that had been imposed to prevent the direct communication by Committee minority staff with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional staff. We are pleased that you have removed the restrictions and that minority staff members are now again communicating directly with regional officials who are knowledgeable about the nature and extent of contamination from perchlorate and other military munitions constituents at Department of Defense (DOD) facilities. The cooperation of the regional staff is appreciated. In that spirit of cooperation we would like to share with you our staff's assessment identifying 40 DOD facilities where known perchlorate contamination of the surface water or groundwater exists at DOD facilities. In several cases this contamination is known to have migrated off-base and affected drinking water supplies. The assessment reveals approximately 25 percent more facilities than the 30 that the EPA identified in its response to us on June 27, 2003. We remain very concerned that DOD is not aggressively investigating the existence of perchlorate and other contamination from munitions constituents at its facilities, particularly in the groundwater under operational ranges, and is failing to provide complete and timely data to EPA and state regulators. More often than not it appears that at the base or installation level, the commanders and the state and EPA regulators can work in a cooperative manner to address issues, including sampling. Unfortunately, the lawyers and leadership in the Pentagon are forcing unnecessary conflicts and challenges to EPA and state regulatory authority. For example, members of the Committee minority staff were informed of a situation where a DOD facility wanted to test for perchlorate contamination of the groundwater but was blocked by Pentagon officials in Washington. Ultimately, the facility asked state regulators to send them a letter requesting perchlorate sampling as a way to overcome the Pentagon's recalcitrance. Our letter to you of February 5, 2004, asked for comprehensive information concerning contamination from military munitions constituents (perchlorate, TNT, RDX, HMX, White Phosphorus) at DOD facilities. The response to that letter is now approximately three weeks overdue. The hearings on the annual Defense Authorization bill have commenced and it is extremely important that such information be made available to Congress immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you need further information, please contact us or have your staff contact Richard Frandsen with the Committee Democratic staff at (202) 225-3641. Sincerely, JOHN D. DINGELL HILDA L. SOLIS cc: The Honorable Joe Barton, Chairman The Honorable Paul E. Gillmor, Chairman
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
