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NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep. John Fleming are indignant about what Fleming calls extortion by the Environmental Protection Agency in connection with the cleanup of 7,800 tons of potentially explosive materials at Camp Minden.
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8 comments
We are being played. The EPA is not the bad guy here. They came to the table. They were part of the process. It was the Army that was absent. It was the Army that refused to take responsibility for their military garbage. And it is now the Army who is throwing it back at the EPA to cow down and take the blame for their bad policies. Bad policies and practices that are polluting not only Minden but other communities around our country. We all knew that the alternative method of disposal would cost more. And that is a cost that the Army should fork over…it’s their trash!! And now our politicians want to throw the EPA under the bus. Not acceptable.
The Dialogue Committee decided on 13 Attributes for a Safe Alternative Disposal!!! Our Elected Officials Must Stand By Us.. the people who elected them!!!! The EPA came to the table and they listened to us. Based on how much money the Army paid EXPLO to take the M6 with no oversight from Any Agency Protect us. They need to fund this disposal and move Forward Immediately. We have waited long enough. Rebecca Shelley Sherrard
Brian Salvatore
The additional costs here are necessary for more than just oversight. These costs include key pollution abatement features on the contained burn incinerator, on-site monitoring of the emissions, and disassembly/removal of the incinerator from Camp Minden once this problem is solved. Please recognize that the EPA is the one governmental agency that is currently trying to adhere to the set of Attributes for Safe Disposal that were devised by the Dialogue Committee. The U.S. Army has the duty to come up with any additional funding needed for the safe remedy. $8 million more is quite reasonable and justified here.
NEVER,EVER, trust the U.S. military when it comes to cleaning up a mess. There are quite a few people at the EPA whose salaries are paid with funds provided by the Department of Defense, and believe me, they know where their bread is buttered.There are lots of folks at the EPA who want to do things right, though, and if they need more money to oversee the cleanup properly GIVE IT TO THEM. The senators who claim extortion are simply misinformed, grandstanding, or both. They are the ones who are risking the health and lives of the wonderful folks at Minden.
Congressman Fleming,
What you are characterizing as “extortion” by the EPA is, in reality, the associated cost with a less harmful disposal process. You (and simultaneously, Senator Vitter) are advocating for expenditures only adequate for a return to an open-burn disposal.
What’s equally egregious, but no less expected, is the complete and utter disrespect you exhibit towards the same Dialogue Committee and concerned citizens that have spent months researching safer alternative methods, the same people that you purport to represent.
Knock it off with the tough talk and scare tactics. Who do you REALLY stand for? The US Army or the citizens of NW Louisiana?
Months of research and face-to-face conversations with all involved parties through an EPA facilitated Dialogue Committee resulted in a final facilitator’s report outlining 13 critical attributes for a SAFE disposal and remediation.
And now, John Fleming and David Vitter are claiming extortion by the EPA in requiring that all of these agreed upon attributes be met.
Do not be hoodwinked by the egregiously false and misleading statements by these two congressmen. Call both TODAY, and remind them of the 13 attributes agreed upon by the Camp Minden Dialogue Committee.
Fleming: 202-225-2777
Vitter: 202-224-4623
Dr. Flemming and Mr. Vitter, have you not been paying attention? Of course the EPA wants more money! We the citizens want proper emission controls! The money allowed was for an OPEN BURN. It costs a bit more to do it properly, to do it safely and to do it right! The EPA is trying to protect our citizens! What are you guys trying to do?
This is just the latest example of behavior by Vitter and Fleming that they have
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