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Dear Colleagues,
Now that the new Washington administration has settled in, it is time for all of us to urge congress to bring the EPA into compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (sec. 106) as required by their own implementing regulations (40 CFR 300.5, 300...310 and 36 CFR 800). As most of you know, the EPA's western region has purposefully ignored these requirements and refused to conduct section 106 reviews on their projects. During the past 2 years, I have discovered that this attitude is pervasive throughout the EPA nationwide.
Please use one of these sample letters as a guide:
Sample Letter 1
Sample Letter 2
and send as many letters as you can to the congressional committees, and leaders on the
Legislative Address list included here:
Legislative Addresses
These files are in Word format to make it
easy to edit and cut and paste names and addresses.
Throw a letter writing party or potluck and get twice as many letters sent. If you are on a field project this season, take this information with you and get the crew members to write letters during down-time.
The congressional members on the attached list have been chosen because they sit on the important subcommittees that review and vote on the budget and activities of the EPA every year. If they are made aware that the EPA has not and is not following federal NHPA requirements and destroying cultural resources, they are in the best position to place restrictions on the EPA's budget to bring the agency into compliance. This is a first step. It is best to get the EPA to comply with the law voluntarily. If this doesn't work, then it will be necessary to bring legal action against the agency for noncompliance.
For more information on the Elem Indian Colony mess that led us to discover EPA's non-compliance,
hit the "UP" button above.
The EPA is about to receive $600 million in new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Superfund cleanups around the nation. The money is meant to cleanup hazardous waste sites and create jobs. Unless you write these letters, none of those jobs will be in the areas of cultural resources or Native American employment.
It's up to you! Democracy is government of, by, and for the people... YOU! Time for YOU to be a part of government. Let them know how you want YOUR tax money spent.
Sincerely,
Dr. John Parker |
