News Release
Eagle Nature Foundation, Ltd.
300 East Hickory Street, Apple River, IL 61001
Phone: 815-594-2306 Fax: 815-594-2305 Web Site: eaglenature.com
e-mail: eaglenature.tni@juno.com Tax Exempt No. 36-4015400
| For Immediate Release | November 22, 2013 |
Terrence Ingram Elected Community Co-Chair of the SAD RAB Board
Terrence Ingram, President of the Eagle Nature Foundation, was elected Community Co-Chairman of the Savanna Army Depot Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) at the board’s November meeting. Simon Bernstein, the husband of Pam Bernstein, past ENF Secretary, who has been Community Co-Chair for the past six years nominated Mr. Ingram, and Jim Breed, ENF and RAB board member, seconded the motion. Mr. Ingram had been Community Co-Chair of the RAB for the five years preceding Mr. Bernstein’s six years.
For the next two years Mr. Ingram will serve as the Community Co-Chair along side the Army Co-Chair, Ms. Cathy Collins. Mr. Ingram is one of only two RAB members who have been members of the RAB board since its inception in 1996.
The RAB is a community stakeholder group that meets on a regular basis to discuss environmental restoration at a specific property that is either currently or was formerly owned by Department of Defense (DoD), but where DoD oversees the environmental restoration process. RABs enable persons interested in the environmental cleanup at a specific installation to exchange information with representatives of regulatory agencies, the installation, and the community. While the general public can comment on DoD’s environmental restoration program, RABs offer a focused and interactive opportunity to participate in the environmental restoration process.
RABs fulfill a statutory requirement for DoD to establish, whenever possible and practical, a committee to review and comment on DoD actions and proposed actions regarding environmental restoration. RABs may only address issues associated with environmental restoration activities.
Examples of activities a RAB may undertake are:
• Reviewing and commenting on environ- mental restoration documents and ac- tivities, preliminary assessments, site inspections, remedial investigations and other documents;
• Providing information to the community;
• Receiving input from the community; and
• Obtaining information regarding the schedule, type, and status of environ- mental restoration activities.
The Savanna Army Depot originally had 223 contaminated environmental sites to which the Army assigned numbers. Then some of them were divided into sub sites as further investigations determined they had different contaminants.
The past RAB boards have insisted that the Army fully clean up every site before it be allowed to be turned back to the public, whether it be for residential or commercial use. The Army has disagreed with this policy, as they want to sell what amounts to a “dirty deed”, where the land still has to be clean-ed up at some time in the future. The Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA), which handles these sales, also wants the Army to allow “dirty deeds” so they can receive a commission from each sale. Because there are so very few sites which can be easily cleaned up, the LRA may have to shut down as they will not have the funds to operate.
Most of the pollution which has been cleaned up, has only been cleaned up by the Army picking up the material, contaminated sand or whatever, and moving it to a certified land fill elsewhere. Thus we are only moving the contamination and not cleaning it up. One hundred years from now our grandchildren will be faced with the problem of what to do when these landfills start leaking. It a wonderful legacy we are leaving them. Just like our debt!!
For more information contact: Terrence N. Ingram, Exec. Director, Eagle Nature Foundation, 300 East Hickory St., Apple River, IL 61001 Phone 815-594-2306