Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Visits the Santa Susana Field Lab Per His Commitment to Congressman Sherman
Sherman Oaks, CA – The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, visited the Santa Susana Field Lab today. During a Congressional hearing in June of this year, Congressman Brad Sherman secured a commitment from the Secretary that he would personally visit the contaminated site.
"I am pleased Secretary Perry went through with the commitment he made to me this summer," said Sherman.
"The community was promised that the work needed to clean up the Santa Susana Field lab would be completed by now," Sherman stated, "And, yet any meaningful effort has not even been started."
"After these many decades, we need a full cleanup of this nuclear testing site." Sherman continued. "Half a million people live within just 10 miles of the Santa Susana Field Nuclear Laboratory."
"Secretary Perry acknowledged before Congress the lack of progress. With his visit to the site today, I urge the Department of Energy to honor its commitments to the community.
In 2007 the Department of Energy signed both a ‘Consent Order for Corrective Action' to address the contamination, and three years later the Department signed an ‘Administrative Orders on Consent' requiring a full cleanup be completed by 2017. In April of this year, Congressman Sherman requested funds for the full clean-up of the Santa Susana Field Lab, and by May of this year the House Energy and Water Subcommittee instructed the Department of Energy to move forward expeditiously on the remediation effort and to comply with both the 2007 Consent Order and the related Administrative Order.
"I would have preferred that Secretary Perry would have visited the site at a time I could have accompanied him, and we offered many possible dates," Sherman said. "Still, what is important is that he visited the site and hopefully now understands the importance of a full clean up as soon as possible. I look forward to talking with Secretary Perry when he returns to Washington."
To View the Post-Visit Press Release from Secretary Rick Perry, please click here:https://www.energy.gov/articles/readout-secretary-perry-s-visit-santa-susana-field-laboratory