Determining Cleanup Standards for Hazardous Waste Sites

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Determining Cleanup Standards for Hazardous Waste Sites

I. Introduction

With the impending closures or realignments of military bases nationwide, both private and public parties recognize the problems incident to the private resettlement of formerly publicly held lands. In particular, installations that had unique military missions may manifest environmental problems that, while tolerable when balanced against the paramount necess,. ties of maintaining national security, are impossible to reconcile with traditional private and commercial uses. Consider the hauntingly analogous case of Sandra DeVantier who, on KO-vember 28, 1990, moved into a newly purchased house in the Love Canal neighborhood of Albany, New York.' Buying a house usually is a pretty ordinary event, but Ms DeVantier moved into a neighborhood that was so polluted by hazardous waste2 that it served as a nom de weme, or rallying cry to clean up the environment Can Love Canal now be looked to as an example of a successful environmental cleanup effort? This question, at least at present, appears to remain unanswered Similarly, how clean must a military installation be before the federal government can retrocede its ownership to the state or to private parties, also is controversial.

.Judge AhmBte Generars Carp3 United Sfafen Army Reserves B A , 1873, Lnlrer. bit) of Smfh Dakota J 0,

1981, Enlverrlfy al Sorfh Dakota Lar School LL M IWl. ace General's School Preiioui works include Dn:o A\D .

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