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Schumer urges support of LOOW advisers: Says agency should stop ignoring board
(Buffalo News, The (NY) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 18--Sen. Charles E. Schumer said Thursday he wants a federal agency to stop ignoring a community group, while the agency announced it has awarded more than $1.5 million in new contracts as it moves forward with an investigation and cleanup of a former weapons production and dump site.
Schumer, D-N. Y., in a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, urged the agency to get back to working with the Restoration Advisory Board for the former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works.
"It is clear that there is enormous support in the community for the continuation of the work of the existing LOOW RAB," Schumer wrote. "This is a group that has represented the interests of the community for many years and contains individuals with vast experience they can bring to the table."
The corps announced earlier this year it would seek public input on forming a new advisory board, though the agency de-
clared earlier this month that there wasn't "sufficient community interest" in a new board.
Corps officials said the new group would have the same structure as a board abandoned several years ago after community members said it was ineffective.
This spring, the state attorney general's office called the corps' actions "illegal and misguided."
Board members said corps officials have been sending the message that they were asking too many questions about the ongoing investigation. The agency stopped sending representatives to the advisory board's meetings, and cut off access to their technical experts except through periodic, large-scale public meetings.
Schumer also urged the corps to support the advisory board's request to bring in a facilitator to mediate interaction between the two sides.
A corps spokeswoman said the agency would have no comment on Schumer's announcement.
Also on Thursday, the corps announced it was awarding more than $1.5 million in contracts for investigation and cleanup activities at the World War II-era site.
Earth Resources Technology of Annapolis, Md., will receive $1.14 million for investigation in the area of a former waste water treatment plant now owned by the Town of Lewiston, officials said in a release.
The company also is to assess alternatives for dealing with contamination on CWM Chemical Services property, as well as land owned by Occidental Chemical Corp.
Environmental Chemical Corp. of Bloomfield, N. J., was awarded a $399,000 contract to remove 11 underground storage tanks.
Corps officials announced funding for the tank removal unexpectedly became available in May. They were criticized at the time by Amy Witryol, a Lewiston resident who represents the town on a community advisory committee for CWM. CWM is the Northeast's only hazardous waste landfill, which sits on the former ordnance works site.
The corps had been telling the public for years it will finish its investigation before doing any cleanup, Witryol said.
abesecker@buffnews.com
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Buffalo News, N.Y.
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