DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OPENS SIXTH MEETING OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATIONTASK FORCE
Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security/Cleanup
Patricia A. Rivers today opened the sixth meeting of the Defense Environmental
Response Task Force (DERTF) in San Bernardino, California.
"The Department of Defense, along with community leaders and state and federal
regulators, are pleased with the work that has been accomplished to date
regarding cleanup and transfer of property. These partnerships play a vital
role in helping the Department to cleanup its closing bases safely and transfer
them to communities quickly," said Sherri W. Goodman, deputy under secretary of
defense for environmental security.
The DERTF is a Federal Advisory Committee (FACA) charged with providing
findings and recommendations on environmental actions at military installations
being closed or realigned.
The goal of this meeting is to examine environmental issues associated with
the cleanup and reuse of closing military installations. The success of the
President's five-part program to revitalize communities affected by closure of
installations, and particularly the successful implementation of the Fast-track
cleanup portion of that program, greatly depends on the partnerships that have
been built, not only within the federal government, but also with states,
communities, and the public.
This DERTF meeting includes several presentations on issues related to base
closures: Superfund reform, Fast-track cleanup implementation, generic
remedies, environmental measures of merit, clean air issues, future land use,
unexploded ordnance, and contracting.
