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“INTRODUCTION OF ROCKY FLATS OPEN SPACE ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1215-E1216 on June 10, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF ROCKY FLATS OPEN SPACE ACT
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HON. MARK UDALL
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 10, 1999
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Rocky Flats Open Space Act. This legislation will preserve important open space and wildlife resources of this former nuclear weapons production facility in the heart of a major metropolitan area.
The Rocky Flats facility sits on land purchased by the federal government in the early 1950s for the production of nuclear weapons components. Since 1992, Rocky Flats' mission has changed from production of nuclear weapons components to managing wastes and materials and, cleaning up and converting the site to beneficial uses in a manner that is safe, environmentally and socially responsible, physically secure, and cost-effective.
The land at Rocky Flats is generally divided into a buffer zone of about 6,000-acres and an industrial area of about 385-acres. The industrial area contains the building and facilities that were used to manufacture nuclear weapons components. The buffer zone has been generally used as an open space perimeter around the centrally located industrial area.
Since it was established in 1951, the Rocky Flats buffer zone has remained essentially undisturbed. This land possesses an impressive diversity of wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. It also represents one of the last sections of critical open space that makes up the striking Front Range mountain backdrop.
The concept of preserving this land as open space is not new. Recently, the city of Westminster, Colorado, just east of Rocky Flats, conducted a citywide poll asking residents how they thought the Rocky Flats site should be managed into the future. The results of that poll were released in February 1999 and they show that people overwhelmingly support the preservation of Rocky Flats as open space. In fact, 88 percent of the respondents picked open space as the preferred land use. Additionally, from 1993 to 1995, The Rocky Flats Future Site Use Working Group, composed of a broad range of local community representatives and the public, evaluated the potential future uses of the Rocky Flats site. In 1995, the Group issued a set of recommendations, which included keeping the buffer zone in open space. Furthermore, the 1996 Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement and corresponding Rocky Flats Vision Statement, the documents which govern cleanup of the site, contemplate open space uses for the buffer zone. In short, my bill reflects the preferences of the citizens who live around the site by designating the buffer zone as open space.
Just last month, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson designated about 800 acres of the northwest section of the buffer zone as the Rock Creek Reserve to preserve and protect the important wildlife, cultural and open space resources of this area. My bill complements the Secretary's action by acknowledging the important wildlife and open space opportunities of the entire buffer zone. Because a number of future management decisions still need to be made, my bill also creates a Rocky Flats Open Space Advisory Council, composed of representatives of the communities, citizens and state and federal agencies, to make recommendations as to how the buffer zone should be managed as open space.
It is important that there be a rational and more predictable process for addressing land use and the open space potential of Rocky Flats. My bill ensures that state and local government will have a seat at the table in determining the future of land use at Rocky Flats.
In addition, it is important to underscore that my bill will not affect the ongoing cleanup and closure activities at Rocky Flats. My bill encourages DOE to remain on track for the cleanup and closure of the site by the year 2006. It also directs that the bill's provisions for open space management cannot be used to establish cleanup levels for the site, and instead directs that the appropriate cleanup levels be based on public health and safety considerations.
Specifically, the Rocky Flats Open Space Act would declare that the lands owned by the federal government at Rocky Flats will remain in federal ownership, and that the lands comprising the buffer zone (about 6,000-acres) remain as open space. Additionally, the bill would create an Open Space Advisory Council, comprised of representatives of the local community and citizens, to make recommendations on the appropriate entity to manage the wildlife, wildlife habitat and open space resources of the buffer zone. The advisory council would also provide any other advice on how this open space resource should be managed. Furthermore, the bill would stipulate that the U.S. Department of Energy continues with all required cleanup and closure activities.
The bill would not establish the Rocky Flats industrial area as open space, but that would not be precluded by the bill if the communities find such use appropriate. Similarly, the bill won't affect the scope and schedule of cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats--it does not hamper achieving a cleanup and closure by the year 2006--or affect the historic former Lindsey Ranch Homestead facilities that presently exist in the buffer zone. It also won't affect the recently created Rock Creek Reserve established by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for about 800-acres in the northwest area of the buffer zone.
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