Army Corps of Engineers Commander Agrees “To Do the Right Thing”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo., pressed the Commander of Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. General Robert Van Antwerp, to assist the City of Cheyenne deliver clean drinking water to the city’s residents.

“Let me be clear – Cheyenne ’s water is safe. But state and city officials should not bear the entire burden of cleaning up this mess. I strongly urged the Army Corps of Engineers to assist Wyoming DEQ and the city with technical and financial assistance in their efforts to continue providing safe drinking water to the people of Cheyenne .”

Barrasso’s comments came during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing examining the President’s proposed 2009 budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“I am pleased Army Corps Commander Lt. General Van Antwerp went on the record to say that the problem needs to be fixed.  I was heartened when he said during the hearing that they ‘will do the right thing.’”

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the City of Cheyenne have found evidence of trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial solvent used in cleaning engines and rocket motor parts, in the city’s water wells. DEQ believes the contamination is directly linked to a former nuclear missile site eight miles from the city’s wells. The Army Corps of Engineers have previously disputed this claim.