[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 56 (Thursday, April 22, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        WORKING TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

  (Mr. CANNON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CANNON. Madam Speaker, I rise today on Earth Day to introduce 
legislation that will clean up a significant environmental problem in 
southern Utah: the Atlas uranium mill tailings. This legislation will 
begin the process of removing 10 million tons of low-level radioactive 
contaminants from the banks of the Colorado River.
  These wastes sit just outside of Moab, Utah at the gates of the 
breathtaking Arches National Park where hundreds of thousands of people 
visit each year.
  The Colorado River provides the sole source of drinking water for 
tens of millions of people in Arizona, Nevada and California. These 
radioactive wastes threaten that water supply.
  Currently the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has responsibility for 
cleanup. My legislation will transfer jurisdiction from the NRC to the 
Department of Energy, where remediation and relocation can begin so as 
to avoid any further health risks and environmental degradation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Today on Earth Day, 
let us put aside our ideological differences and commit together to 
accomplish good environmental policy.

                          ____________________