Cleaning Up

The Defense Department, nearing the end stage for many of its active base cleanups, has set out new goals for accomplishing cleanup responses at most of those bases, including munitions sites, whose cleanups were begun much later than DOD's traditional industrial sites, Defense Environment Alert reports this morning:

While the goals replace an earlier marker DOD would have soon faced of having either cleanup remedies in place or responses complete at all of its industrial waste sites by 2014, the new goals capture a wider range of sites than that goal did and call for response completes only -- a further step in the process than remedy in place.

With the 2014 goal "fast approaching," it was time to set new goals, Maureen Sullivan, DOD director of environmental management, explained in an interview with Defense Environment Alert. "[T]he program was so mature that it is time to look at the next hard mark, which is response complete," she said.

The response complete (RC) goals are to have 90 percent of DOD's industrial waste sites, known as Installation Restoration Program (IRP) sites, and its Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) sites at active bases achieve RC by the end of fiscal year 2018, according to a July 18 DOD memo obtained by Defense Environment Alert. In addition, 90 percent of IRP sites at formerly used defense sites (FUDS) must achieve RC by the end of FY-18 as well, it says.

Further, by the end of FY-21, 95 percent of IRP and MMRP sites at active bases and IRP sites at FUDS must achieve RC, the memo says.

"These RC goals will enable [DOD] Components to advance sites through the final cleanup phases to site closeout," the memo says. The memo was signed by DOD Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Installations & Environment John Conger, and was sent to the service assistant secretaries for environment. . . .

The new goals, however, do not cover BRAC sites or FUDS MMRP sites. DOD, however, last year did agree with a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report calling on the department to set a goal for achieving RC or remedy in place at FUDS munitions sites. GAO pointed out that despite an existing legal requirement, DOD has not yet established a goal for having remedies in place or responses complete at these sites (Defense Environment Alert, April 27, 2010).

The just-released goals become effective in the next fiscal year and, while not binding legal requirements, "are required to facilitate the DoD Components' efforts to meet their legal requirements," Conger says in the memo. Conger says the goals will not require DOD to spend any additional funds than were currently programmed.