To the editor:
We are having the wrong conversation regarding the Rest of River Agreement. There is nothing right, just, or appropriate about the situation the town of Lee is in. It’s unfair that Lee is the host for this proposed PCB dump, but even with all the speculation that the dump will ruin the town, there is evidence to the contrary. Our town has been the host of a PCB dump site for decades and is still a town that is thriving and a place I’m proud to live.
The question now is how do we stop the dump, if possible, and I haven’t come up with a plan. Some have said that the selectboard should vote to rescind the agreement and hire legal counsel to fight the decision further in court. I don’t believe that is the best way forward and here is my rationale.
First, Lee rescinding the deal will not put the breaks on the river cleanup. Anything the federal government does supersedes the decisions we make here in town. The EPA has issued a permit and it has been upheld by the appeals board. The town of Lee alone cannot put a stop to the cleanup process at this point.
Furthermore, if we were to sever ties, we would lose a seat on the Rest of River Committee (RoR), have no oversight or monitoring, no mechanism for recourse if there were issues in the future, and the list goes on. Not to mention the monetary impact which the tax payers of Lee would be responsible for, including defending ourselves from the legal ramifications of rescinding. The RoR Committee has spent more than $500,000 and 8-plus years to get to this point.
What would be our argument? We would have to prove in court this agreement is illegal. Unfortunately, the arguments that have been made already, although made with valiant effort and great care, have been defeated through the appeals process.
Finally, we should consider remediation. One commitment the EPA has made is to continue the research and development of remediation technologies. I say Lee should lead on this and use the majority of our funds given to us by GE as part of this agreement to further the research and development of technologies to remediate PCB contaminated soils, in an effort to rid ourselves of these toxins forever.
I do not want a PCB dump in our town. But it is so much more complicated than that. The chances of having a positive outcome from a legal endeavor on our own are slim, with no upside if we lose and no chance to get back into the agreement. Years of battling in court lie ahead; meanwhile GE will be dredging the river and building the landfill. We passed an amendment last Tuesday to set aside $1.5 million for a legal fund as part of the RoR agreement. I think we should continue to protect ourselves in these ways without jeopardizing the entirety of the agreement. That’s the conversation we need to be having.
Sean Regnier
Sean Regnier is a member of the Lee Selectboard.
