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"Protecting Taxpayers and Ensuring Accountability: Faster Superfund Cleanups for Healthier Communities."
Testimony by Robert Spiegel, President, Edison Wetlands Association
U.S. Senate Documents
Good afternoon, my name is Robert Spiegel. I am the executive director and co-founder of the Edison Wetlands Association also known as the EWA. Thank you for allowing me to testify today on an extremely important issue, one that deeply impacts public health and environmental quality for all Americans, "Protecting Taxpayers and Ensuring Accountability: Faster Superfund Cleanups for Healthier Communities."
The EWA is a non-profit environmental organization that was founded in 1989 to protect public health and the environment by cleaning up and restoring hazardous waste sites in New Jersey and beyond. The EWA also owns and operates the last farm in Edison Township, the Triple C Ranch and Nature Center, a natural oasis in the 1450 acre Dismal Swamp Conservation Area. At the Triple C Ranch and Nature Center, our staff, volunteers and interns run community gardens, and teach hands on environmental programs. The EWA has over 1000 members in New Jersey.
The EWA has been working directly on Superfund Sites for over 25 years and we also work to strengthen the public's understanding of the Superfund process. The EWA accomplishes this by working directly to chair or co-chair at least 12 Community Advisory Group's (CAG's) with the public, elected officials, the USEPA and other state and federal agencies. One of the tools we provide to assist communities is the use of environmental engineers and technical advisors to disseminate technical information to communities so they can meaningfully participate in the Superfund Process. The EWA strongly advocates for protective remediation at Superfund Sites and study Superfund laws and regulations. The EWA also assists Environmental Justice Communities in navigating the often-confusing Superfund process.
I started working in 1989 on Superfund issues. I co-founded the Edison Wetlands Association when I was working as a pastry chef in a catering banquet hall. The hall's ice carver John Shersick came into my bakery because he liked the smell of the baked goods I made. Besides being an ice carver John was a naturalist and hunter. One day he asked me a very strange question, "Do you want to see some green rabbits?" At the time, I baked...