Despite Fire that Ravaged Santa Susana Field Lab, Dept. of Energy Proposes Breaking its Cleanup Commitments
In 2010, the US Department of Energy (DOE) signed legally binding agreements to clean up all radioactive and toxic chemical contamination at its parts of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) by 2017. Not only is the cleanup not completed, it has not even begun. Had DOE complied with its obligations, the tragic fire that appears to have begun at SSFL and spread far throughout the region would not have carried with it the risk of spreading contamination far beyond SSFL in the smoke from the burning polluted vegetation and soil.
Ironically, during the same time as the SSFL fire, DOE has been soliciting public comment on its newest plan to break out of its cleanup obligations in the future. Called a Draft Programmatic Agreement, it appears to try to avoid cleaning up large portions of SSFL, going far beyond the very limited exceptions allowed in the cleanup agreements.
To add insult to injury, DOE has solicited comments on the Draft Programmatic Agreement while refusing to make it public, releasing only a brief summary of “general principles.†It is only allowing a few persons it has invited to review and comment on the full document, which it will only release publicly once it has made it final. Only agencies ashamed of what they are trying to do would engage in such a game of “hide the ball.â€