Environment | Opinion

Nathan Small: Shoshone-Bannock Tribes oppose cleanup plan





Nathan Small, the chairman of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho, on the Environmental Protection Agency cleanup order for a toxic site:
he public should be outraged that this is the best the EPA can do after 20 plus years. My people remain enraged over this decision—a decision I question. Is this the best EPA can do to order FMC to clean up their mess? It will leave thousands of tons of ignitable and reactive waste within our homeland and generate toxic phosphine and other gases indefinitely. For decades we have strongly advocated for removal and/or treatment of this dangerous and deadly waste. Unless the site is cleaned up, not covered up, future commercial use of the site is not realistic. The EPA is misleading the public by stating the remedy is protective of human health and the environment. FMC plans to place a soil cap over the hazardous materials and monitor the top of the soil. FMC refuses to monitor deep within the soils to determine how far phosphine gas is migrating.

Get the Story:
Nathan Small: Fort Hall Business Council Fights EPA Cover-up (Indian Country Today 7/1)

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