[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL RESTORATION ADVISORY BOARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ED PERLMUTTER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 2, 2011

  Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the members of 
the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Restoration Advisory Board in Colorado, who 
are dissolving as a board this month after more than 17 years of 
service to the nation.
  As the primary community advisory board for the U.S. Army at the 
Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the members have ensured that the community was 
informed and involved during each phase of the design, remediation and 
transformation of this environmental cleanup site into a premier urban 
national wildlife refuge. Given the importance of the task and the many 
years of work it required, their dedication deserves our recognition 
and thanks.
  Their work is particularly remarkable because of the unique role the 
site has played in the history and defense of our nation. The U.S. Army 
built the Rocky Mountain Arsenal following the attacks on Pearl Harbor 
to manufacture chemical weapons as a deterrent against the Axis Powers. 
After the war, the U.S. Army leased some of the facilities to Shell 
Chemical Co., which manufactured agricultural chemicals at the site. As 
the decades unfolded, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal played critical roles 
in allowing our nation to win the Cold War, put men into space and 
complete a historic demilitarization program.
  These achievements came at a price, however. Although the U.S. Army 
and Shell used accepted waste disposal methods of the time, some 
contamination of the structures, soil and groundwater occurred. The 
communities of Brighton, Commerce City and Denver, which surround the 
Rocky Mountain Arsenal and are represented on the Restoration Advisory 
Board, help forged consensus around the environmental restoration and 
future use of the site.
  Together with representatives from the U.S. Army, Shell Oil Co., U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Colorado 
Department of Public Health and Environment and Tri-County Health 
Department, these citizens held more than 130 public meetings. They 
reviewed countless technical documents, shared community questions and 
perspectives and served as liaisons with the larger community to ensure 
public concerns were addressed throughout the environmental restoration 
program.
  They also provided critical support for the future use of the site as 
a national wildlife refuge once remedial actions were complete. Today, 
the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge encompasses more 
than 15,000 acres and offers habitat to more than 330 wildlife species, 
including American bald eagles and wild bison. Just as importantly, the 
refuge offers exhibits to educate visitors about the historic use and 
legacy of the site.
  Now that the environmental restoration and transformation of the 
Rocky Mountain Arsenal is complete and the board has completed its 
oversight role, the Restoration Advisory Board has decided to dissolve. 
Please join me in thanking the members for their service and in 
congratulating them on a job well done.

                          ____________________