SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN CCNS AND DOE
This SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT is made and entered into by and
between Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety ("CCNS") and the United
States Department of Energy ("DOE").
Whereas, CCNS filed a Clean Air Act citizen suit against
DOE and Siegfried Hecker, Case No. 94-1039M (D.N.M.), which alleges that
Los Alamos National Laboratory ("LANL") is not in compliance with the
national emission standard for radionuclides at DOE facilities, set forth
at 40 C.F.R. ¤¤ 61.90- 61.97 ("Subpart H");
Whereas, on April 2, 1996, the Court granted partial summary
judgment to CCNS based upon DOE's admission that 31 of 33 "major" stacks
and associated quality assurance programs were not in compliance with
Subpart H at the time CCNS filed their motion for partial summary judgment;
Whereas, DOE contends that it achieved full compliance
with the Subpart H on or about June 3, 1996;
Whereas, DOE further contends that Congress has not waived
DOE's sovereign immunity for the assessment of civil penalties against
it under the Clean Air Act;
Whereas, CCNS disputes DOE's claim of compliance and of
non-waiver of sovereign immunity and, furthermore, seeks injunctive relief,
an assessment of penalties, an order requiring the performance of environmentally
beneficial projects and recovery of its litigation costs and fees;
Whereas, the parties wish to resolve this action without
additional litigation and agree that it is in the public interest to enter
into this Settlement Agreement, without further adjudication of the issues
raised in this case; and
Whereas, the parties consider this Settlement Agreement,
when viewed together with the Consent Decree lodged January 14, 1997,
to be a just, fair, adequate and equitable resolution of these issues.
NOW THEREFORE, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
1. University of New Mexico Funding. DOE agrees to provide
funding to the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in the amount
of $150,000 per year on or before the date 90 days after execution of
this Agreement, on that date in 1998 and on that date in 1999, to be used
exclusively to enable the University of New Mexico School of Medicine,
Masters in Public Health Program, to develop and implement a curriculum
for a concentration in environmental health within the Masters in Public
Health Program. The environmental health curriculum developed with this
funding shall include scientific and policy matters associated with the
Clean Air Act and radionuclides.
2. Radiation Education Training DOE agrees to provide a
five-day training course during 1997, the cost of which will not exceed
$50,000, on the subject of radiation exposure and radiation protection
to be taught by instructors from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and
Education. The course will include field work at LANL and training in
the use and operation of radiation detection equipment. The course will
be offered in Espanola, New Mexico. The following persons will be invited
to attend the course:
3. Equipment Loan. DOE will establish a repository of radiation
detection equipment at Los Alamos that will consist of standard portable
radiation monitoring equipment, e.g., hand-held survey meters capable
of detecting alpha and beta radiation, i.e. alpha pancakes and beta probes,
as well as meters capable of detecting gamma and neutron radiation. DOE
agrees to allow persons who have completed the course described in paragraph
2 to borrow radiation detection equipment from the repository. DOE may
establish reasonable procedures to govern the loan and return of this
equipment, such as a LANL employee accompanying the borrower, as long
as there is no cost to the persons borrowing the equipment, the community
or the property owner where the equipment is used. If, through the use
of the borrowed standard survey meters, a borrower identifies a radiation
concern, DOE agrees to investigate the concern through more sophisticated
methods, such as gamma spectroscopy. DOE may first attempt to confirm
the concern with the borrower by verifying the results obtained by the
use of the standard survey meters. The borrower will be given the opportunity
to observe further investigation, subject to reasonable safety and health
concerns. DOE agrees to provide the borrower and CCNS with the data obtained
from the investigation. DOE shall maintain this equipment loan program
through December 31, 2002.
4. Miscellaneous
FOR PLAINTIFFS: LAW OFFICES OF SIMON AND OPPENHEIMER FOR DOE: LOIS J. SCHIFFER JOHN J. KELLY Date:_________________________ by: _________________________ |
