Press & Related Documents for Eagle River Flats Bombing Range Settlement

Federal Court Complaint

Settlement Document

October 28, 2004 -Anchorage, AK   After two years of intense negotiations with the Department of Defense (DoD), Plaintiff groups today announced an agreement that will provide significant protections to water quality, fish, wildlife, and human health at Fort Richardson in Alaska.

 In April 2002, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, Cook Inlet Keeper, and Military Toxics Project sued the U.S. Department of Defense over its bombing activities at Eagle River Flats that harm water quality and pose a toxic and safety hazard to local Indigenous subsistence users and nearby residents. Despite the presence of 10,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Eagle River Flats on Fort Richardson, the Army refused to address the dangers posed by the presence of UXO.  The Army’s discharges of munitions into the Eagle River Flats release harmful chemicals such as RDX, 2,4-DNT, heavy metals, and other high explosive and propellant compounds. In 1994, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed Fort Richardson on the national “Superfund” list of the most polluted sites in the nation.

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