Sen. Charles Schumer expressed his support Thursday for the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works Restoration Advisory Board, chiding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its efforts to dissolve the board and form a new one.
“Active citizen input is essential to a smooth and efficient clean-up — and well-understood — process,” Schumer said in a release. “It is just plain dumb to dissolve a citizen group that provides vital feedback and guidance.”
The Army Corps decided in January to discontinue its efforts with the current RAB, calling it a citizen-based volunteer group that does not meet the guidelines for a DoD RAB. An Army Corps spokesman said the agency has no comment on Schumer’s letter at this time, but the Army Corps has been frustrated with what they see as the current RAB addressing concerns outside of the LOOW site.
Soon after its decision, the Army Corps was the subject of criticism by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who called it “particularly troubling” and an “attempt to silence the community.”
The RAB has continued functioning and cooperating on some levels with the Army Corps in the meantime, but at stake is vital funding, recognition and extensive cooperation from the Corps, which is investigating a 191-acre radioactive cell within the LOOW, known as the Niagara Falls Storage Site.
In December, the Corps issued the conclusion to its nearly decade-old remedial investigation of the Storage Site, saying it posed “no imminent hazards to safety or health from radiological or chemical exposure.”
It’s unclear what affect Schumer’s words will take. Though the Corps has not actively responded to criticism of its decision yet, Schumer is the first federal voice to weigh in on the issue. His action also includes a letter to Lt. Colonel John Hurley, the Corps Buffalo district commander, which cites “enormous support in the community for the continuation of the work of the existing LOOW RAB.”
• In other Corps news, the agency announced Thursday it awarded two contracts to companies related to testing and cleanup activities at the LOOW site. The first contract, for $1.14 million, was awarded to Earth Resources Technology to complete testing of the Waste Water Treatment Plant located on property owned by the Town of Lewiston.
The second contract, for $399,000, was awarded to Environmental Chemical Corporation Bloomfield for the removal of 11 underground storage tanks at the site. One of the tanks is on Town of Lewiston property and the rest are on land owned by CWM Chemical Services.
• The Corps has rescheduled a planned information session on its Remedial Investigation Report. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Lewiston Senior Center on Lower River Road. The original meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6.
Local News
ENVIRONMENT: Schumer comes down on Corps
Federal senator says U.S. Army Corps erred in dismissing the RAB
- Local News
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SLIDESHOW: Memorial Day Weekend 2012
Niagara Falls celebrates Memorial Day Weekend activities on Saturday with a parade on Pine Avenue, a memorial service and viewing of the new Veterans Memorial at Hyde Park, a concert series on Old Falls Street and free boat safety inspections by the Niagara County Sheriff Department Marine Division at the City of Niagara Falls Boat Docks on Buffalo Avenue.
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Legislation protecting Falls air base units moves forward
The effort to protect jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station got a boost from a committee in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
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Korean student robbed at gunpoint in Falls
Detectives are investigating the robbery of a 25-year-old woman Wednesday night in front of a motel in the 400 block of Main Street.
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Davis will not seek Murphy removal
Lawyers for accused killer Matthew “Bones” Davis say their client will not ask to have Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III removed from his case.
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Labor group laments economic development efforts
Economic development in New York state has become a joke to some in the area. And many of them are demanding changes to a process which spends approximately $3 billion a year.
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Repaving work on Old Military Road rises to $790K
Sometimes a change is good. Sometimes a change is bad. For the Town of Lewiston, a change can be pretty costly.
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Fifth-grader presents list of 400 names asking for new playground
A 10-year-old boy carrying a petition containing more than 400 signatures asked members of the Niagara Falls School Board on Thursday to consider building a new playground at his school.
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Bomb threat leads to arrest at NT school
A North Tonawanda teen was arrested Thursday morning for sending a one-sentence bomb threat to the computer of a fellow high school student, resulting in a brief lockdown of the school.
- Sense of resignation on AES pact
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Marching to the new veterans memorial
It's the unofficial beginning of summer.
Memorial Day may mean cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers, a trip on the river in a boat or simply a day off from work Monday.
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