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Meeting with Community Residents at Globeville Waste Site
05/16/1996| Carol M. Browner Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Meeting with Community Residents at Globeville Waste Site Denver, CO Prepared for Delivery May 16, 1996 It is a pleasure to be here with Mayor Webb, Patti Shwayder from the State of Colorado, and members of the community. The members of this community have borne a heavy burden of contaminated land, polluted air, concerns about the places where their children play, the places where they grow their vegetables, concerns about their health. In the face of those concerns, this community has come together. They have become informed. They have become involved. As the cleanup of this area proceeds, the people of this community have made sure they are active participants in solving the problems -- protecting their health and the environment that they share. All levels of government have worked to ensure that the residents of this community have the information, the resources, the opportunities they need to be full, active participants in protecting their community. EPA has given $50,000 to be used by the community to keep themselves fully informed and involved as the cleanup goes forward. This community is an inspiring example of how all of us -- citizens, business, government -- must join together and accept the challenge to protect our health, our air, our water, and our land. The Clinton Administration believes that in protecting public health and our environment, full involvement of the community is absolutely essential. We have expanded the public's right to know about toxic chemicals in their communities, Zip Code by Zip Code. Now, emissions of 648 different toxic chemicals must be reported to the public -- giving communities new tools for reducing pollution. The Clinton Administration's Brownfields Action Agenda helps communities across the country to clean up and redevelop abandoned and contaminated pieces of land that have too long lain idle in the heart of our urban areas. Through this program, communities bring together neighborhood residents, businesses, developers, investors -- to clean up and revitalize their communities in the ways that work best for them, creating jobs, creating hope. The Sand Creek Pilot Project here in Denver is part of this program. To continue our progress in cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated land -- and to ensure that the community is involved right from the start -- President Clinton has also called on Congress to fix the Superfund toxic waste cleanup law. The Clinton Administration proposes to ensure community involvement, to speed the pace of cleanup, to ensure tough cleanup standards, and to continue to hold big polluters accountable for the damage they have done. The polluter, not the taxpayer, must pay. We look forward to working with Congress to pass a new, responsible Superfund law. Over the past two years, we have experienced an unprecedented Congressional assault on environmental protection. In the battle over the budget, in the battle over the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws, the President stood firm for public health and environmental protection. As a result, vital protections are in place and will remain in place. Now, the President has called on Congress to lock those protections in place through a seven-year balanced budget. The President believes, as the American people do, that we can balance the budget and protect public health and the environment. We do not have to choose. The President has called on all Americans to come together, to meet America's challenge on the environment, to restore the bipartisan commitment to public health and the environment that served this nation so well for the past generation. We look forward to continuing to support this community, and other communities across this country. Together, we can protect where we live and how we live -- our air, our water, our land, our health. |
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