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The Battalion
Vol. 92 No. 160 (6 pages) 1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993 Monday, June 21,1993
Government carries burden of pollution cleanup
EPA fails to recover $270 million in charges against toxic waste polluters
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - The gov
ernment already has written off
$270 million that it was supposed
to charge polluters for cleanup of
the nation's worst toxic waste sites
and faces absorbing hundreds of
millions more, an Associated
Press review has found.
The Environmental Protection
Agency says in many cases the
polluters have disappeared or are
unable to pay. In others, it says it
simply lacks the manpower or evi
dence to file lawsuits.
The situation appears to be
worsening for the Superfund pro
gram, which Congress created 13
years ago with the intention that
polluters — not taxpayers — pay
for cleanup of hazardous sites.
“The number of cases that are
eligible for cost recovery greatly ex
ceeds the capacity of available re
sources/' Richard Guimond, acting
assistant administrator for Super
fund, wrote in a March 26 memo.
“This situation is likely to be
come more difficult in the near
future."
Internal EPA figures obtained
by the AP show the agency has re
covered only $843 million — or
less than one-fifth — of the $4.3
billion in cleanup costs that could
be recovered from polluters under
the current law.
Of the remainder:
— $829 million is tied up in liti
gation or bankruptcy court.
— $270 million has been written
off with no chance of recovery.
— $2.3 billion has yet to be pur
sued, with the legal deadline for
suing for recovery in most of
those cases expiring in the next
few years.
The statute of limitation in Su
perfund cases, which is six years
from the start of a cleanup, makes
it impossible to go after polluters
after the deadline has passed.
Chad Littleton, a Superfund
program analyst, said EPA ex
pects to write off another $170
million in recoverable costs next
year alone and eventually antici
pates between 30 percent and 50
percent of pending cases will
reach the same fate.
In addition to the inability to
locate some responsible polluters,
EPA has decided not to pursue
most cases in which the potential
recovery is below $200,000, be
cause of high legal costs.
Among the writeoffs is a pro
ject in three suburban New Jersey
communities where officials esti
mate the cost to taxpayers eventu
ally may reach $200 million.
The government is removing
radon-contaminated soil from
more than 700 properties, with the
suspected polluter a defunct near
by industrial plant that made lu
minous watch dials until 1926.
EPA Administrator Carol
Browner recently directed a task
force to figure out ways to handle
cost recovery more efficiently as
the agency seeks to resolve the
worsening crunch.
“We are trying to make sure
we set priorities to make sure the
urgent cases are handled first,"
said Mike Vandenbergh, a senior
policy adviser for Browner.
But critics aren't convinced
the agency has done all it can to
recover the tax dollars spent on
Superfund.
“I can't imagine the govern
ment not trying to collect every
penny from corporate polluters,"
said Charles Lewis, executive di
rector of the government watch
dog Center for Public Integrity.
He called the EPA writeoffs “un
acceptable."
The EPA's inspector general be
lieves Superfund officials were not
aggressive enough. “Cost recover
ies were not always vigorously
pursued or maximized," John Mar
tin wrote in a March 31 report.
Dog day afternoon
RICHARD DIXON/The Battalion
Jason Jamison, a business major from Bryan,
gives Samantha a flea dip Saturday afternoon.
Jamison works at Producer's Co-op in North Bryan
where they dip and bathe dogs with the Texas
A&M Vet School once a year. The cost was $5
per dog.
J
Cultural diversity mandate
provokes varied responses
By JASON COX
The Battalion
The recent decision by the Texas A&M University
Liberal Arts Council to require incoming liberal arts
students to complete coursework in classes empha
sizing cultural diversity has garnered positive and
negative reactions statewide.
The new policy, which was adopted June 9, re
quires six hours of study in international and domes
tic areas, three of which must be concerned with
race, ethnicity or gender issues in the United States.
A similar motion for a University-wide require
ment is currently before the Faculty Senate, but will
not be voted on until further study on the issue can
be completed.
The Republican Party of Texas came out against
the requirement June 13, passing a resolution con
demning it as "a series of courses in victimology and
a clear liberal political agenda."
In addition, the resolution called upon state legis
lators to restrict funding that would be used to "pro
mote required politically correct indoctrination at
state schools."
The Texas A&M of College Republicans followed
suit by adopting a similar resolution, but which also
asks former students to withhold financial contribu
tions until the requirement is rescinded.
Not all reaction to the decision has been negative,
however. Houston Post Columnist Robert C. New
berry wrote, " A&M is on the verge of taking a bold
and necessary step to help its students get to know
each other.
"To me, it is A&M's societal contribution to help
end some of the hate, the fear and the separateness
of the races in America," he said.
Newberry went on to write that white students
tend to avoid taking such classes, and the ones who
need them most "avoid them like the plague."
Tanya Williams, chairwoman of the A&M Black
Awareness Committee, said she was pleased with
the council's decision, but was not surprised at the
amount of controversy it has generated.
"I am really glad they passed it," she said.
"They're claiming students may not want it, but it is
a step in the right direction."
Williams said campus relations should be based
on respect, not only for other cultures, but for men,
women and other organizations as well.
"It is taking a step out of the comfort zone and ex
periencing something new," Williams said. "We
can do academic work all we want, but we need to
See Diversity/Page 2
Federal law to enforce free checking claims
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - From now
on, by federal’law, free checking
really must be free.
Under the Truth in Savings
Act, taking effect Monday, banks
and savings institutions must of
fer clear, complete and uniform
disclosures of the terms of their
deposit accounts — both checking
and savings.
Advertising must not be mis
leading or incomplete. For in
stance, checking advertised as
free can carry no hidden charges
or conditions.
''Any account advertised as
free after June 21 cannot be what I
call a 'free, asterisk' account," said
Ed Mierzwinski, a lobbyist for the
U.S. Public Interest Research
Group, one of the consumer orga
nizations that pushed for the law.
“It cannot charge regular main
tenance or per-check fees or re
quire balance minimums to avoid
fees," he said. However, banks and
S&Ls still can charge free checking
customers for a box of checks and
for automated teller transactions.
The act also bans the so-called
“investable balance" method to
pay interest. Under the method, a
bank might advertise a 3 percent
rate on savings accounts but pay
it only on 90 percent of the bal
ance, effectively reducing the rate
to 2.7 percent.
Low-balance methods of calcu
lating interest no longer will be
permitted. Under one such system,
customers earn interest only on
their lowest daily balance for the
month, instead of the average daily
balance. Or, under another, an ac
count dipping below the minimum
balance for a single day would lose
interest for the entire month.
"Truth in Savings will require
banks to pay interest on a con
sumer's full balance, each day,"
Mierzwinski said.
Another important change, ac
cording to consumer advocates, is
the inauguration of annual per
centage yield, or APY, a standard
ized method of expressing inter
est, taking into account the rate
and compounding.
"Consumers will be able to
compare apples to apples. Right
now, they're comparing apples to
oranges but they don't know it,"
said attorney Michelle Meier of
Consumers' Union.
Customers no longer will have
to try to figure out if 2 percent
compounded daily is better than
2.2 percent without compound
ing. A hundred dollars deposited
in an account, paying an APY of
2.24 percent, will earn $2.24 in one
year. A higher APY always means
more interest.
A&M seeing more bike accidents, UPD says
By GENEEN PIPHER
The Battalion
The number of automobile-bi
cycle accidents are increasing on
the Texas A&M University cam
pus, according to the Texas A&M
University Police Department.
Corporal Betty LeMay of the
University Police Department
said the increase in accidents is
probably a result of a greater
number of bicycles on campus
and a lack of obedience to bicycle
laws.
"Bikes are more popular than
they were before," she said.
"Mopeds were the big thing for a
while, but students have come
back to bikes. The problem is that
they don't realize it (bike riding)
can be dangerous, and they don't
follow the rules of the road."
LeMay said nine automobile-
bicycle accidents were reported in
the 1991-92 school year, but this
Inside
Sports
•Softball: Lady Aggies wait
for completion or complex
•Smith: Thanks for the
baseball lessons dad
Page 3
Opinion
•Editorial: Rap music no
defense for convicted killer
•Guest column: Cultural
diversity courses good idea
Page 5
Weather
•Monday: Cloudy with
showers/thunderstorms
•Forecast for Tuesday:
mostly cloudy, scattered
showers/thunderstorms
Texas Lotto
•Saturday's winning
lottery numbers:
4, 11,22,40, 44,50
•Estimated lotto jackpot:
$3 million
year's figure, which only includes
reports to April, has jumped to 17.
Two weeks ago on Wellborn
Road a 52 year-old man was
struck and killed by a car while
riding his bicycle.
Safety Education Department
Research Assistant Les Campbell
said safety is not something the
average cyclist is thinking about
while riding.
"It's like they have their own
set of rules, but bikes are sup
posed to follow the same rules as
cars," he said. "Many don't fol
low those rules at all. There
seems to be an arrogance on the
part of cyclists. Safety is, or seems
to be, the last thing on their
minds."
Dr. Maurice Dennis, Coordina
tor of Safety Education, said peo
ple should expect cyclers and
walkers to do the wrong thing
"If there is a cyclist ahead, slow
down," he said. "Even if the guy
is wrong, do all you can to pre
vent the accident."
LeMay said UPD has tried to
promote bike safety through in
formational programs, but be
cause of low turnouts they were
discontinued.
But Campbell said his group is
planning a different approach to
bike safety
See Bicycle/Page 2
Locals celebrate
Juneteenth holiday
By JANET HOLDER
The Battalion
More than 150 people in College Station celebrated June
teenth Saturday with religious songs, African dances and
speeches at the Lincoln Recreation Center.
Juneteenth is a celebration recognizing the day when
slaves in Texas were told about the Emancipation Proclama
tion, the decree which freed the slaves.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham
Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863, but news of the proclamation did
not arrive in Texas until June 19. The day was given its
name by blacks who decided to combine the month and the
date together to form Juneteenth.
Lillian Robinson, director of the Lincoln Recreation Cen
ter, said the event is a time to reflect on black's progression
toward total equality.
"Now we (blacks) take things for granted," she said.
"Not so many years ago we couldn't vote, use public re
strooms or water fountains and couldn't use waiting rooms.
We fought to get this freedom, but we still have a lot to do."
Robinson said blacks need to remember the importance
of freedom and continue to pursue it.
The main speaker at the Juneteenth festivities, Andrew
White said, "We forgot what freedom really means. Free
dom means to do something - to work."
White, director of Quality Control for Johnson & John
son, said blacks need to stop complaining about discrimina
tion at work and instead form their own Businesses.
See Juneteenth/Page 2
STACY RYAN/The Battalion
Shannon Adams, a member of the
Austin-based PAPE' Y PADE' Pan African
Dance and Percussion Ensemble, dances
to traditional African drum music at the
Lincoln Recreation Center Saturday
evening during the Juneteenth celebration.