Re: Paducah CAB Board Resigns in Protest

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

I'm a little surprised that there was no comment on the media release by 

the seven resigning members of the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board, 

especially in light of all the heat generated by the "Precautionary 

Principle" thread.  Here you have a group of people interested in 

technical details of the cleanup, resolving disputes and problems, 

keeping the public informed, and providing input on DOE decisions that 

affect their community.  Yet DOE seems incapable of (or uninterested in) 

meeting this group's basic needs so it can have meaningful input.



It's no wonder that misrepresentation of scientific facts is accepted as 

truth when they come from anti-nuclear or other radical groups.  They 

can point to agencies like DOE and outline the obvious lack of 

commitment to public input, tell the concerned citizens that even if DOE 

doesn't care, they do, and then go on to dispense the false factoids 

about harm from radiation, etc.  DOE can't expect to retain any 

credibility with its stakeholders unless it is at the table with 

straightforward and honest give and take.  Even in Oak Ridge, the Site 

Specific Advisory Board is running into some of the same stonewalling by 

DOE.  Things have changed a great deal in the degree of openness and 

acceptance of public input over the past three years.  And yes, it does 

reflect a top-down attitude adjustment, as local officials react to 

restrictions placed on them by their bosses in Washington.



My observations and opinions only,

Susan Gawarecki



> DOE

> has made a substantial investment of resources and time in the CABs in order

> to establish a dialogue and credibility within the local communities in the

> region of these facilities. 



> All of us had hoped that as Board

> members we would be able to have meaningful input into DOE's decision-making

> process.  



> Our tenure on this

> Board has been difficult due to the lack of information from DOE combined

> with the lack of dedicated support staff and the failure of DOE to take

> board points of view and recommendations seriously.  



> DOE is not providing the CAB with information in a timely

> manner to allow it to do its job despite the Board's continuing complaints

> about this problem.  In some cases, the DOE officials seem to be  making it

> difficult to obtain key information about environmental problems at the site

> that could be important in cleaning up the site and surrounding lands.

> (Apparently, some of this is done deliberately to hide problems in their

> proposed processes.)



> The fact that the Board's administrative staff works for the

> main cleanup contractor appears to be a conflict of interest.



> DOE's rejection of existing cleanup agreements and abuse of

> the dispute resolution procedure in the Federal Facilities Agreement has

> made it virtually impossible for the public, including the Board, to keep up

> with and be involved in the progress of the attempted resolution of these

> disputes.  Resolution of these disputes is at the core of any progress being

> made in site cleanup.



> DOE's actions indicate a desire to ignore fundamental

> federal regulations that pertain directly to the cleanup and handling of

> waste materials (i.e. hazardous/toxic waste treatment through blending).



> De facto removal of the DOE site manager without any

> explanation caused us grave concern.  He was the first and only DOE manager

> to show that he was really serious about getting to the heart of issues and

> having an honest debate.



> Too much

> money has been wasted on the sham cleanup at the Paducah DOE site.



-- 





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