Published: July 17, 2008 08:44 pm      

ENVIRONMENT: Schumer comes down on Corps

Federal senator says U.S. Army Corps erred in dismissing the RAB

Sen. Charles Schumer expressed his support Thursday for the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works Restoration Advisory Board, chiding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its efforts to dissolve the board and form a new one.

“Active citizen input is essential to a smooth and efficient clean-up — and well-understood — process,” Schumer said in a release. “It is just plain dumb to dissolve a citizen group that provides vital feedback and guidance.”

The Army Corps decided in January to discontinue its efforts with the current RAB, calling it a citizen-based volunteer group that does not meet the guidelines for a DoD RAB. An Army Corps spokesman said the agency has no comment on Schumer’s letter at this time, but the Army Corps has been frustrated with what they see as the current RAB addressing concerns outside of the LOOW site.

Soon after its decision, the Army Corps was the subject of criticism by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who called it “particularly troubling” and an “attempt to silence the community.”

The RAB has continued functioning and cooperating on some levels with the Army Corps in the meantime, but at stake is vital funding, recognition and extensive cooperation from the Corps, which is investigating a 191-acre radioactive cell within the LOOW, known as the Niagara Falls Storage Site.

In December, the Corps issued the conclusion to its nearly decade-old remedial investigation of the Storage Site, saying it posed “no imminent hazards to safety or health from radiological or chemical exposure.”

It’s unclear what affect Schumer’s words will take. Though the Corps has not actively responded to criticism of its decision yet, Schumer is the first federal voice to weigh in on the issue. His action also includes a letter to Lt. Colonel John Hurley, the Corps Buffalo district commander, which cites “enormous support in the community for the continuation of the work of the existing LOOW RAB.”

• In other Corps news, the agency announced Thursday it awarded two contracts to companies related to testing and cleanup activities at the LOOW site. The first contract, for $1.14 million, was awarded to Earth Resources Technology to complete testing of the Waste Water Treatment Plant located on property owned by the Town of Lewiston.

The second contract, for $399,000, was awarded to Environmental Chemical Corporation Bloomfield for the removal of 11 underground storage tanks at the site. One of the tanks is on Town of Lewiston property and the rest are on land owned by CWM Chemical Services.

• The Corps has rescheduled a planned information session on its Remedial Investigation Report. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Lewiston Senior Center on Lower River Road. The original meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6.