My daughter Grace is an eleven year-old, two-time cancer survivor. I learned how dangerous contaminated sites are to the health of children when we discovered our home is less than three miles from one of America’s worst nuclear meltdowns, the Santa Susana Field Lab in California.

The California DTSC is an environmental agency meant to help people living near contaminated sites to get the cleanups they need, as we can’t fight alone against the large and powerful corporations who want to protect profits instead of people. 

But Grant Cope, current Deputy Director of the Site Mitigation and Restoration Program at the DTSC, has been part of the problem instead of the solution. And right now he’s being considered for an important role at the federal EPA. 

We have to block Grant Cope’s nomination to a critically important federal EPA position to help ensure that  children living near toxic and nuclear sites are protected from exposure to dangerous contamination. 

If Grant Cope were to be appointed to the EPA’s Office of Land and Management (OLEM) position, he would be responsible for the implementation of our nation’s hazardous waste laws, the Superfund program, the implementation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, responding to chemical disasters through the nation, deciding how wastes are classified and managed in the country and what protections are needed to safeguard communities hosting these waste facilities. It’s a critically important role.

Will you take one minute and write a comment below, opposing Grant Cope from the critical OLEM position at the USA EPA? We'll collect all of our comments and make sure they get to Michael Regan, President Biden’s nominee to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Warmly,
Melissa Bumstead, Parents Against SSFL

OPTIONAL COMMENT TEMPLATE:

I am a supporter of the cleanup of one of American’s worst nuclear meltdowns, the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) in California. The complete cleanup was promised in 2010 but to date, no significant cleanup has begun. Local families and activists who have been fighting for the SSFL cleanup have worked directly with Grant Cope and do not recommend him for the Office of Land and Management position within the USEPA.

Grant Cope’s negligent leadership has led to delays, confusion, false data, and poor communication with community members. 

On several occasions he has made verbal promises to “Parents Against Santa Susana” that he would take more aggressive actions towards the SSFL cleanup, none of which came to fruition. When NASA, DOE and Boeing wrote and finalized their own Environmental Impact Reports, that do not comply with the 2010 legally binding cleanup  agreements, Grant Cope did nothing. Community leaders had to press him for a letter of rebuttal. He has actively been involved with efforts that undermine the cleanup agreements.  Without the support of several watchdog groups, the site’s polluters would have already abandoned the cleanup. 

He has allowed the burden of fighting for the cleanup to fall on the backs of community members, many of which are already caring for their critically ill children.

I ask that you do not appoint Grant Cope to the EPA’s Office of Land and Management as he has been negligent with the cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Lab, thus risking the lives of local children and residents.

Sincerely,