[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1215-E1216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               INTRODUCTION OF ROCKY FLATS OPEN SPACE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 10, 1999

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Rocky 
Flats Open Space Act. This legislation will preserve important open 
space and wildlife resources of this former nuclear weapons production 
facility in the heart of a major metropolitan area.
  The Rocky Flats facility sits on land purchased by the federal 
government in the early 1950s for the production of nuclear weapons 
components. Since 1992, Rocky Flats' mission has changed from 
production of nuclear weapons components to managing wastes and 
materials and, cleaning up and converting the site to beneficial uses 
in a manner that is safe, environmentally and socially responsible, 
physically secure, and cost-effective.
  The land at Rocky Flats is generally divided into a buffer zone of 
about 6,000-acres and an industrial area of about 385-acres. The 
industrial area contains the building and facilities that were used to 
manufacture nuclear weapons components. The buffer zone has been 
generally used as an open space perimeter around the centrally located 
industrial area.
  Since it was established in 1951, the Rocky Flats buffer zone has 
remained essentially undisturbed. This land possesses an impressive 
diversity of wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. It 
also represents one of the last sections of critical open space that 
makes up the striking Front Range mountain backdrop.
  The concept of preserving this land as open space is not new. 
Recently, the city of Westminster, Colorado, just east of Rocky Flats, 
conducted a citywide poll asking residents how they thought the Rocky 
Flats site should be managed into the future. The results of that poll 
were released in February 1999 and they show that people overwhelmingly 
support the preservation of Rocky Flats as open space. In fact, 88 
percent of the respondents picked open space as the preferred land use. 
Additionally, from 1993 to 1995, The Rocky Flats Future Site Use 
Working Group, composed of a broad range of local community 
representatives and the public, evaluated the potential future uses of 
the Rocky Flats site. In 1995, the Group issued a set of 
recommendations, which included keeping the buffer zone in open space. 
Furthermore, the 1996 Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement and corresponding 
Rocky Flats Vision Statement, the documents which govern cleanup of the 
site, contemplate open space uses for the buffer zone. In short, my 
bill reflects the preferences of the citizens who live around the site 
by designating the buffer zone as open space.
  Just last month, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson designated about 
800 acres of the northwest section of the buffer zone as the Rock Creek 
Reserve to preserve and protect the important wildlife, cultural and 
open space resources of this area. My bill complements the Secretary's 
action by acknowledging the important wildlife and open space 
opportunities of the entire buffer zone. Because a number of future 
management decisions still need to be made, my bill also creates a 
Rocky Flats Open Space Advisory Council, composed of representatives of 
the communities, citizens and state and federal agencies, to make 
recommendations as to how the buffer zone should be managed as open 
space.
  It is important that there be a rational and more predictable process 
for addressing land use and the open space potential of Rocky Flats. My 
bill ensures that state and local government will have a seat at the 
table in determining the future of land use at Rocky Flats.
  In addition, it is important to underscore that my bill will not 
affect the ongoing cleanup and closure activities at Rocky Flats. My 
bill encourages DOE to remain on track for the cleanup and closure of 
the site by the year 2006. It also directs that the bill's provisions 
for open space management cannot be used to establish cleanup levels 
for the site, and instead directs that the appropriate cleanup levels 
be based on public health and safety considerations.
  Specifically, the Rocky Flats Open Space Act would declare that the 
lands owned by the federal government at Rocky Flats will remain in 
federal ownership, and that the lands comprising the buffer zone (about 
6,000-acres) remain as open space. Additionally, the bill

[[Page E1216]]

would create an Open Space Advisory Council, comprised of 
representatives of the local community and citizens, to make 
recommendations on the appropriate entity to manage the wildlife, 
wildlife habitat and open space resources of the buffer zone. The 
advisory council would also provide any other advice on how this open 
space resource should be managed. Furthermore, the bill would stipulate 
that the U.S. Department of Energy continues with all required cleanup 
and closure activities.
  The bill would not establish the Rocky Flats industrial area as open 
space, but that would not be precluded by the bill if the communities 
find such use appropriate. Similarly, the bill won't affect the scope 
and schedule of cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats--it does not hamper 
achieving a cleanup and closure by the year 2006--or affect the 
historic former Lindsey Ranch Homestead facilities that presently exist 
in the buffer zone. It also won't affect the recently created Rock 
Creek Reserve established by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service for about 800-acres in the northwest area of 
the buffer zone.

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