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Public Comment Period Extended for Omaha Lead Site

Release Date: 12/29/2008
Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, [email protected]

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Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., Dec. 29, 2008) - EPA Region 7 will extend the public comment period for the Omaha Lead Superfund Site to January 15, 2009. Without this extension, the public comment period would have expired at midnight on December 31, 2008.

By extending the comment period to January 15, 2009, EPA believes it has struck a reasonable balance of fairness between demands for additional time for public comment, and the pressing health issues of thousands of Omaha's children, who face serious health risks from continued exposure to the hazards of lead. Ending the public comment period on January 15 should enable EPA to proceed with remediation efforts in the 2009 construction season, without denying the public a fair opportunity to provide comment.

It was recently requested that the public comment period for this site be extended by 45 days, to February 16, 2009, to allow additional time to review EPA's administrative record prior to the signing of a final and official Record of Decision.

EPA Region 7 believes the public has been provided adequate time to review and comment on the Agency's administrative record. A majority of the material in the administrative record has been available for public review and comment for more than a year. The December 31 closing date, itself, represented the granting of a previous request for more time to study and comment.

EPA does not anticipate the granting of any further requests to extend the public comment period for this site.

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