State Health Department Joins Suit as Defendant Against Adams County
November 15, 2007—Denver—The Colorado Department
of Public Health and
Environment announced today that the Colorado Attorney
General’s
Office has filed a motion on behalf of the department to
intervene as a
co-defendant with Clean Harbors Deer Trail, LLC, into a
lawsuit brought
by Adams County. Clean Harbors Deer Trail is a disposal
facility near
Last Chance that previously was approved by the Colorado
Department of
Public Health and Environment to accept low-level, naturally
occurring
radioactive materials. In a continued effort to stop the
Clean Harbors facility from
accepting such waste materials, Adams County filed a
complaint in Adams
County District Court in April 2007. The complaint
indirectly attacks
the radioactive materials license and hazardous waste permit
issued by
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in
December
2005.
In two separate cases, Adams County sued the Colorado
Department of
Public Health and Environment with regard to the license and
permit that
had been issued. The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in
October 2007
that Adams County may not sue the state regarding
radioactive materials
licenses or hazardous waste permits because Adams County is
a branch of
state government and the state cannot sue itself.
“We have a duty to make sure the laws and statutes of the
state are
applied equally around the state,” commented Gary Baughman,
director
of the department’s Hazardous Materials and Waste Management
Division.
“Sometimes that means making an effort to ensure that
different
courts make consistent decisions. That’s why we intervened
in this
case.” Among other things, Adams County’s complaint
asserts that
designation of a low-level radioactive waste facility by the
Rocky
Mountain Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact requires a
separate
certificate of designation from the county. However, state
statutes
provide that the existing certificate of designation
fulfills the
requirement. The state has the responsibility of providing
for
management of low-level radioactive waste, and specific
legislation has
been enacted to promote the health, safety and welfare of
residents
within the three-state compact region. The Rocky Mountain
Low-Level
Radioactive Waste Compact is a regional compact with
authority to
control certain aspects of the disposal of low-level
radioactive waste. --30-- |
