PROPOSAL NUMBER: 002-05
PROPOSAL NUMBER: 002-05
1. Date proposed 1-31-05. Sponsors: Dave Chandler (state cochair/Jeffco chair)
Legislative Committee:
- Art Goodtimes (San Miguel County)
- Kent Holcomb(Jefferson County)
- Tanya Ishikawa (Jefferson County)
- Brad Klafehn (Denver County)
- Hollie Kopp (Poudre Valley)
- Bruce McNaughton (Denver County)
2. PROPOSAL SUBJECT:
Endorsement of Colorado House Bill 05-1079
3. FULL PROPOSAL:
Colorado Green Party Proposal on Colorado House Bill 05-1079
about Public Knowledge of Rocky Flats & State’s Approval of Cleanup
Proposed by CO Green Party Legislative Committee Member Tanya Ishikawa
Based on the Bill as Introduced into the House on 1/12/05 (amended 1/27/05- see addendum at bottom of proposal)
And as Reviewed by the CO GP LC on 1/27-2/1/05 and the CO GP Council on 2/2-5/06
To access Bill 1079: (opens new window)
(Unfortunately the system the CO Legislature uses for bill access will not allow a specific link to the bill. This link opens the CO House bill database page. Bill 1079 can be accessed from the “House Bills 1051-1100″ menu then scroll to 1079.)
http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics2005a/csl.nsf/BillFoldersHouse?openFrameset
The Fiscal Note is accessed the same way.
(Bill details in Addendum below.)
House Sponsor
McKinley (D, Baca County, Dist.64)
Senate Sponsor:
none listed as of 1/25/05
BILL TITLE: A BILL FOR AN ACT CONCERNING MEASURES TO PROTECT THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF VISITORS TO THE PROPOSED ROCKY FLATS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. (5 pages total)
Bill Summary: Requires that, if and when members of the public are allowed to enter the lands formerly occupaied by the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, all persons so entering are provided with information about:
The history of the site;
The characteristics and health effects of plutonium and other hazardous materials that were used on the site;
The most recent available results of testing of local wildlife for the presence of plutonium, radioactivity, and toxic chemicals;
Measures taken to validate such test results and to independently confirm and verify the effectiveness of cleanup and monitoring efforts at the site; and
The fact that there is no safe level of human exposure to plutonium or other materials that produce ionizing radiation.
Conditions the state’s acceptance of, or the admittance of members of the public to, Rocky Flats upon the certification of an independent expert hired by the Colorado department of public health and environment that the federal cleanup of the site is complete and satisfactory with regard to the continuing protection of human health.
4. BACKGROUND:
Rocky Flats was a nuclear weapon manufacturing campus, which was closed in 1989 due to high levels of contamination. The U.S. government began a cleanup of the site in 1996, and has scheduled completion of activities in 2006. At that time, the campus will become a national wildlife refuge with limited public access to the site and the possibility for expanded access in the future. The Department of Energy and some other organizations state the cleanup will be sufficient not to warrant informing the public of past contamination when visiting the site. The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center and other citizens groups state visitors to the site should be informed of the contamination so they can make a knowledgable choice on whether they consider a visit a risk to their health. Also, while some government agencies and the cleanup contractors are confident that the cleanup level will be sufficient, some outside groups and local governments want further confirmation from outside sources and a guarantee of future monitoring of the site to ensure it remains safe.
5. JUSTIFICATION/GOALS:
- The Green Party should participate in political decisions being made by government leaders.
- The Green Party’s position statements on legislative matters can be used to influence and educate leaders and others.
- See Text of Proposal for specific goals of this bill proposal.
6. PROS AND CONS:
Pro / Con of officially endorsing this initiative
————————————————-
Pros for this GPCO proposal:
This Bill supports the following Green Values: Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Decentralization, Personal and Global Responsibility, and Future Focus.
It recognizes our responsibility for and wisdom behind cleaning up our environment to ensure our health and the health of future generations.
It puts the power to decide whether we consider something a risk and whether we want to risk our health into our own hands, locally and personally.
It requires the government to continue its responsibility for managing and eliminating pollution it created.
This Bill does not go against any Green Value.
Cons for this GPCO proposal:
The Bill will result in the expenditure of $617,984 in 2005/06 and $549,722 in 2006/07, which increases the financial burden on the state government.
It still allows the public to visit the site, to which some groups are opposed due to concerns over possible, continued contamination and threats to personal health and safety.
The information provided to people may dissuade some visitors from accessing a public refuge due to concern over past contamination and possible health risks, which may not actually exist in the accessible areas.
7. Alternatives to the proposal
- Oppose House Bill 1079.
- Do not take a position but only monitor House Bill 1079.
- Give conditional support to House Bill 1079 based on any changes or terms requested by the Green Party.
8. REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:
Bylaws of the Green Party of Colorado:
Green Party of Colorado Bylaws 2005
Addendum:
ADDENDUM to Proposal: (Revision of) A Bill for An Act To Provide Public Health Information to Visitors to the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge
The General Assembly of the State of Colorado hereby finds that:
The State of Colorado will be welcoming many visitors to this State who may decide to visit Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). Citizens of Colorado may also choose to do so. Future Refuge management plans include promoting field trips for Colorado school children. The State of Colorado finds that it is in the public interest and in furtherance of well known public health goals to fully inform members of the public who are deciding whether to visit the Refuge about the history of the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant and about the risk of exposure to contaminants being left onsite.
Therefore Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
1. IF AND WHEN A WILDLIFE REFUGE IS ESTABLISHED ON LANDS FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY THE ROCKY FLATS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PLANT IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) shall ensure that members of the public, prior to entering the Refuge, are provided with complete and objectively supportable information, as set forth in Section 2 hereof.
2.
a. Signs at each foot or vehicular access point to the Refuge shall provide the following information:
Public Advisory
The State of Colorado wishes to provide you with information concerning the risks associated with exposure to the low levels of radioactive and other hazardous materials that remain in the soil, groundwater and dust at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, formerly Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant. Detailed information is provided in the containers located near this sign.
b. Written pamphlets and/or audio presentations shall be provided in small stands adjacent to each sign and shall include at the minimum the following information.
Informed Consent Public Advisory
The State of Colorado has determined that members of the public should be informed of the following facts when deciding whether to enter Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge:
Informed Consent Public Advisory
The State of Colorado has determined that members of the public should be informed of the following facts when deciding whether to enter Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge:
(a) Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge was a nuclear weapons manufacturing plant from 1950-1991. During that time, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors buried, burned and sprayed plutonium and other radioactive and hazardous materials onsite at Rocky Flats. Some of these actions were legal, others illegal.
(b) Since 1992, DOE has undertaken cleanup of the site. The DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Colorado acknowledge that, after the cleanup is complete, detectable levels of plutonium and other radioactive and hazardous materials will remain in the surface and subsurface soils and in the groundwater and may be present in dust which becomes airborne at the site. Persons accessing Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge may become exposed to radioactive and other hazardous materials through dust in the air or through contact with the soils. The radioactive and hazardous materials are invisible to the naked eye, and may be tracked home in dirt on shoes and belongings. Plutonium remains radioactive for tens of thousands of years, and it can be harmful in very small amounts if inhaled, ingested, or otherwise taken into the body, as through an open wound.
(c) There is considerable scientific controversy within the scientific community concerning acceptable levels of risk and the methods of calculating that risk, and there is great uncertainty associated with these issues.
(d) According to national and international standard setting bodies, there is no safe level of human exposure to plutonium or other materials which produce ionizing radiation. Cancer and genetic defects are known effects of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation. Children and the already infirm are the most at risk from low levels of ionizing radiation.
(e) The EPA and the State of Colorado, using mathematical modeling, have decided that the risks at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge are acceptable for a wildlife refuge worker. They have also determined that the cleanup complies with the written agreement between the EPA, the DOE and the State.
(f) In light of the scientific uncertainties and the controversies about risk, members of the public considering a visit to Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge should decide themselves whether the risks are acceptable to them and their families.
3. CDPHE is directed to use all reasonable efforts to ensure that the Informed Consent Public Advisory is also part of the Cold War Museum or any Rocky Flats Museum.
4. No minor person enrolled in any school in Colorado may enter the Refuge as part of a school field trip without signed written permission of a parent or guardian agreeing that they have been provided with and have read a written copy of the Informed Consent Public Advisory.
5. CDPHE is directed to attempt to obtain reimbursement for the costs incurred in carrying out the directives of this Bill from the U.S. Department of Energy pursuant to the RFCA and any other authority.