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Health & Fitness

Commentary, The Clean-Up at SSFL

From the Office of the Inspector General of NASA:

1. NASA COMMITTED TO AN EXCESSIVE AND UNNECESSARILY COSTLY CLEANUP

2. NASA’s Remediation Plan Commits the Agency to a Cleanup Standard Not Based on Risk to Health.

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3. Less Costly Cleanup Alternatives Exist.

The full report can be found here;

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“In the United States, an inspector general leads an organization charged with examining the actions of a government agency… …as a general auditor of their operations … ...to discover the possibility of misconduct, waste, fraud, theft, or certain types of criminal activity by individuals or groups related to the agency's operation, usually involving some misuse of the organization's funds or credit.”

“…most presidentially appointed IG special agents have had full law enforcement authority to carry firearms, make arrests, and execute search warrants.”

The IG report is important. It is either an accurate portrayal of a regulatory process that’s been hijacked, in other words; the truth. Or, it’s false… a lie. You decide; remember, it’s your pocketbook paying for DOE and NASA cleanups since they are government agencies.  

The comment period on the draft NASA EIS is open.  Write them if you question if your dollars are being spent wisely here, it’s the only way we can create change.

Please read the Executive Summary:

http://www.nasa.gov/agency/nepa/news/SSFL.html#.UgZNQRyId7I

DTSC said in a letter to the Mayor and City Council of Simi Valley in April of this year:

“To date we have not found evidence of off-site contamination that would pose a risk to human health or the environment.”

http://ssfl.msfc.nasa.gov/documents/comm/2013-04-03_DTSC_Mayor_Huber.pdf

I believe them.

From a court document related to the suit Boeing filed that overturned SB990:

103. The only reason that DTSC can identify for singling out SSFL for disparate treatment is a political one.

(pg 53)

105. There is no technical, scientific, or environmental basis to single out SSFL for more onerous cleanup procedures than apply to other contaminated sites in California.

(pg 55)

It makes for good reading. The full document can be downloaded here:

http://www.dtsc-ssfl.com/files/lib_boeinglawsuit%5Clegaldocs/64849_Boeing_statement_uncontroverted_facts.pdf

This document is a deposition. Statements made by DTSC staff and management while under oath, and it’s a document that both sides agreed to its truth and veracity. Rick Brausch was the Project Director at the time. He is quoted extensively. The courts said it’s the truth. Read it. You decide.

SB990 was the law, it was overturned as unconstitutional. The suit is up for appeal. A decision is pending soon… possibly a matter of weeks. Stay tuned.

Politically connected, out of town special interests have been running this clean up since 2011. Now, we’re seeing the damage and environmental catastrophe these clean-up agreements will cause… and they file suit... and emotion stirs the pot… and they vilify and demonize people who live here and care. Others who care are seeing the damage as well. People who have the qualifications to make informed comments are going to be coming out now to comment on the NASA Draft EIS. I believe, in large part, the lawsuit is a distraction to divert peoples attention from the environmental and cultural damage that will be done unnecessarily.

Another lawsuit was filed this week. It effectively stops the clean-up. I see a two-year delay while both the State and the Special Interest that filed the suit bleed money. This clean-up needs to move forward! Why would anyone want the clean-up stopped? Who gains by shutting it down?

Facts, truth, reason… Distortion, lies, emotion…

Hopefully, the public will be able to sort the reason from the emotion.

Hopefully, the decision makers can sort the truth from the lies.

 

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