Contact your elected officials re: support for Energy Bill amendment
Dear Whistleblower Law Blog Loving Readers:
I know I write some pretty tongue in cheek messages, however, there are serious issues going on in the world that simply are so numerous and so grand in scope that the individual American doesn't know how to keep up or how to help out. Today one of those issues has popped up. Here is the issue: The Atlas Corp. owns a uranium tailing pile in Moab, Utah. Don't tune out, Moab, Utah is going to be important to you, stay with me. There is about 10.5 million tons of uranium mill waste which includes 426 million gallons of contaminated liquid waste seeping from the unlined site. The site is about 130 acres and has groundwater the feeds the Colorado River with radioactive waste and other toxins. Lets put aside the fact that 25 million people use the Colorado for their drinking water and that the Uranium content in groundwater near the Moab site is 530 times too high and just concentrate on the solution right now.
The Project on Government Oversight did a report on this in 1999. At that time the problem was terrible, but the solution was found. The Department of Energy (DOE) originally projected that the site would be cleaned up by 2011. BUT, the Dept. of Energy now wants to permit them to extend the clean up date by a 17 years. That means the site will continue to leech toxins and radioactive waste into the Colorado until 2028. The Oak Ridge National Lab's 1998 report said that even if the first Atlas plan is implemented the radioactive waste will continue to contaminate the Colorado River for another 270 years.
This is simply wrong. They had 11 years to fix the site. The fact that Atlas is using bankruptcy as a means to escape responsibility is not a viable rationale for the government to fail in finding a solution for the benefit of its citizens. Today you can help force a solution.
Here is what we ask: Find your elected official and write them. Tell them to support Representative Jim Matheson's (Democrat from Utah) amendment to the Energy bill which will support the quick clean up of the Moab site. If we do not speak up today the amendment will be overlooked.
You can find your elected official at the POGO web site by clicking here: www.http://ga6.org/pogo/leg-lookup/search.tcl
Thanks,
Brian
