SEVENTH MEETING OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION TASK FORCE OPENS AT FORTDEVENS, MASS.
Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security/Cleanup
Patricia A. Rivers today opened the seventh meeting of the Defense
Environmental Response Task Force (DERTF) at Fort Devens, Mass.
The DERTF is a Department of Defense Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) charged
with providing findings and recommendations on environmental actions at
military installations being closed or realigned.
This meeting will highlight activities at Fort Devens, a recently closed
military installation. The site was selected because it offered the members an
opportunity to visit a closing installation and view first-hand how the
environmental restoration program functions at military installations.
"I commend the hard work and commitment that the DERTF members have
demonstrated since the first meeting two years ago," said Rivers. "The same
responsibility to community, to finding the best cleanup solutions and to
helping other communities succeed is exhibited by Fort Devens. Efforts here to
expedite cleanup and facilitate the transfer of property are a model for the
President's Five-Part Program,"
The two-day meeting has three main goals: to finalize the Fiscal Year 1995
DERTF Annual Report to Congress; to review fast-track cleanup implementation;
and to discuss how to incorporate future land use in the cleanup process.
Additionally, board members will examine environmental issues associated with
the cleanup and reuse of closing military installations.
According to Rivers, 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.
