EPA Gags Regional Staff on Perchlorate - February 9, 2004 Vol.5, No.3

February 9, 2004 Vol.5, No.3:

Published: 02/09/2004

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EPA Gags Regional Staff on Perchlorate

EPA has prevented regional offices from speaking to congressional staff about perchlorate contamination. Perchlorate is found in rocket fuel and has contaminated drinking water near Department of Defense (DoD) sites in at least 22 states.

Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Hilda Solis (D-CA) released a report Jan. 15 that found DoD has made little progress in cleaning up contaminated sites. In their investigations, staff contacted regional EPA offices to gather information about the sites. When calls were placed, EPA officials stated that they “had been instructed by an EPA headquarters official not to speak with committee staff.”

Dingell and Solis sent a letter to EPA administrator Mike Leavitt Feb. 5 urging him to stop stonewalling Congress from its routine communications with EPA. The letter noted “[t]here is no need to interject another level of Headquarters bureaucracy into the process unless there is a decision on your part to delay and hamper EPA employees from providing information about the contamination of actual and potential drinking water supplies and the health impacts for the public.” Additionally, the letter admonished EPA for its reluctance to use its statutory powers to investigate the scope of perchlorate contamination.

Regrettably, this is not EPA’s first effort to block perchlorate information. In 2002, EPA previously prevented agency scientists from discussing two studies that show lettuce absorbs large amounts of perchlorate – high levels of the chemical have been found in water and lettuce supplies. The escalation of EPA’s stonewalling activities for all matters dealing with perchlorate is troubling. Moreover, hiding information from Congress inhibits its ability to perform its duties of representing and protecting the public.