[CPEO-MEF] Impact of Defense Appropriations Rider

[Pauline Simon <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

[Original message from Anna Aurilio]

Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 13:42:49 -0400
From: Anna Aurilio <asquared@pirg.org>

Hi,

PIRG has been working with a broad coalition of other public interest and
environmental groups to expose and stop the Congressional sneak attack on
our environmental and public health protections.  These sneak attacks are
in the form of unrelated legislative provisions or rider which are attached
to must pass spending bills.  One rider, attached to the Department of
Defense Appropriations bill would exempt the military from civil penalties
in environmental enforcement cases.  I've attached the language of the
rider and our group letter delivered to the President yesterday.  

***We hope you'll help in calling on the President and your elected
officials to repeal this rider.***

What I'm desperately seeking are examples of the impact of this rider
because it would block not just the penalties (thus removing a deterrent
for more non-compliance) but also any environmental mitigation projects.
If anyone on this list serve has examples of projects that would be blocked
by this action, I'd love to get them as soon as possible.  

Thank You

Anna

SEC. 8149. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be used for the
payment of a fine or penalty that is imposed against the Department of
Defense or a military department arising from an environmental violation at
a military installation or facility unless the payment of the fine or
penalty has been specifically authorized by law. For purposes of this
section, expenditure of funds to carry out a supplemental environmental
project that is required to be carried out as part of such a penalty shall
be considered to be a payment of the penalty.


Accounting for the Environment * Defenders of Wildlife * Earthjustice Legal
Defense Fund * Environmental Defense Fund * Friends of the Earth * Natural
Resources Defense Council * Physicians for Social Responsibility * U.S.
Public Interest Research Group

October 28, 1999
  
The President 
The White House 
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 
Washington DC 20500 
  
Dear Mr. President: 
  
Our organizations were deeply disappointed earlier this week when you
signed the Defense Appropriations bill, H.R. 2561, which contains an
extremely damaging anti-environmental rider that immunizes the Department
of Defense (DOD) from having to pay civil penalties for environmental
violations.  We urge you to take every available opportunity in the short
time remaining in this session of Congress to seek and secure an immediate
repeal of this dangerous provision that was slipped into the bill at the
last minute by the conference committee.  

Section 8149 of the DOD appropriations bill prohibits the use of funds to
pay civil environmental fines or penalties imposed against any military
department arising from environmental violations at military installations
or facilities unless the payment of the fine is specifically authorized by
Congress.  Included in this outrageous prohibition is the use of funds to
implement supplemental environmental projects that may be required as part
of a proposed civil penalty.  The provision applies not only to potential
future enforcement actions -- which is bad enough -- but could actually
undo existing court awards and settlements against the DOD that have yet to
be fully paid and halt the implementation of supplemental environmental
projects already in progress. For example, the rider could hinder the
implementation of environmental projects like the groundwater monitoring
studies and community emergency environmental response training in Cape
Cod, Massachusetts that are part of the ongoing effort to address toxic
contamination problems at Otis Air Force Base.  

In addition to the harm this provision will cause at specific military
installations, providing this special treatment for military agencies sends
a unacceptable message to other federal agencies as well as the private
sector that accountability for environmental harm and violations of law is
not an important responsibility but one that can be ignored.  

This rider reverses the direction that this and earlier Congresses have
been moving in to make federal agencies more responsible for the damages
they inflict on public health and natural resources.  In recent years,
Congress and your Administration have supported efforts to “level the
playing field” for federal facilities by waiving sovereign immunity and
subjecting them to the same civil penalties as private companies.  Federal
facilities, including DOD installations, are now subject to civil penalties
for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, certain
provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water
Act, and the Clean Air Act.  As recently as October 13, the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on bipartisan
legislation to extend this list to the Clean Water Act, S. 669.
Representatives of both the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Defense testified in favor of this proposal.  

Mr. President, you must not let this last minute rider undo this strong
trend toward federal facility accountability by exempting DOD from paying
civil penalties for environmental violations. We need your leadership to
quickly overturn this anti-compliance rider as well as to defeat the many
other attacks against the environment and public health attached to
appropriations bills.  Our organizations stand ready to work with you to
repeal the DOD rider and to support your veto of any other bills that
contain anti-environmental riders. 
 
Sincerely,


Anna Aurilio                    Joan Mulhern
U.S.PIRG                        Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
(202)546-9707           (202)667-4500

and:
Accounting for the Environment 
Defenders of Wildlife 
Environmental Defense Fund
Friends of the Earth 
Natural Resources Defense Council
Physicians for Social Responsibility 



Anna Aurilio
Staff Scientist
U.S. PIRG
218 D St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

(202)546-9707 x315

http://www.pirg.org  


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