Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Toxic materials raise concerns

Toxic materials raise concerns


Thursday, 26 November 2009 04:14 by Jude Lizama | Variety News Staff

THE draft environmental impact statement detailed some of the regulatory issues surrounding hazardous material sites for potential U.S. military buildup roadway projects.

The study cited the Environmental Data Resources, Inc.’s report which “identified potential hazardous materials and petroleum contamination sites that are listed in US Environmental Protection Agency databases.

Remaining EDR information was cross-referenced with other potential contamination sites to include available regulatory information of site descriptions.

While this portion of the impact study was tackled environmental and hazardous waste concerns regarding roadway projects, it also concluded that “After field verification, potential contamination sites were eliminated from further consideration if they were not within 0.25-mile of the centerline of the proposed roadway or intersection improvement.”

A memorandum of agreement between the Department of Defense and the government of Guam requires Guam EPA and DOD to work closely to discuss and facilitate environmental restoration and cleanup work on island.

The draft environmental impact statement also provides an update on the ongoing cleanup and restoration of areas formerly used by the military.

In 1986, U.S. Congress created the Defense Environmental Restoration Program that subsequently identified and mandated the cleanup of hazardous substances and military munitions remaining from past activities at DOD lands and formerly used defense sites. This program was later supplemented by the Installation Restoration Program and Military Munitions Response Program.

The Installation Restoration Program is the main DOD environmental restoration program that covers areas within military installations including Orote landfill, Construction Battalion landfill cleanup at Finegayan, and Andersen Air Force Base Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

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