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January 10, 2008

Lipinski Announces $100,000 Grant for Lucas Berg Pit Study Last month, Congressman Lipinski secured a $100,000 grant for a study to determine alternatives to using the Lucas Berg Pit in Worth as a disposal site for dredged material from the Calumet-Sag Channel Modification and Illinois Waterway. The money will pay for the Army Corps of Engineers to search for alternate sites to dump any materials that are periodically dredged from the canal to improve the flow of barge traffic. (reported by the Southtown Star January 6, 2008) In January 2006, Congressman Lipinski gained the support of Congressman Peter Visclosky, who now serves as the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water and who plays a key role in Army Corps projects and funding for dredging sites such as Lucas Berg. Congressman Lipinski and Visclosky, along with other key players with the Village of Worth and the Army Corps came together to examine firsthand the problems that the Lucas Berg Pit poses to the community. "This site is located right in the middle of a densely populated area, and it is immediately surrounded by residential neighborhoods as well as businesses," said Lipinski. "Having an open, working dredging site doesn't make sense for the health and safety of local residents, and this funding is the next step in correcting this situation."     Still seeking solution to Lucas Berg pit problem January 8, 2008 Editorial printed by the Southtown Star http://www.southtownstar.com/news/opinion/editorials/729870,010808edit.article For the past eight years or so, the Army Corps of Engineers has been preparing to use the Lucas-Berg Pit in Worth as the dumping ground for what it dredges from the Calumet Sag Channel to keep it navigable. And for almost three times as in many years, village residents have been fighting to prevent the 70-acre former gravel pit from being used for that or any other purpose, such as a landfill, that could mean the dumping of potentially hazardous materials. The Army Corps' response has always been that it lacks the funds needed to seek alternative dumping sites. That's no longer the case now that U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) has secured a $100,000 grant to do just that. Will this guarantee the pit, located just west of Harlem Avenue and 111th Street, won't be used as the final resting place for the dredgings taken from the Cal-Sag? Unfortunately, no. But for the people who live near the site, it's as good a promise as they could have hoped for - for now. This pit, now owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and leased by the Army Corps, might once have been out in the middle of nowhere, but it hasn't been for a long, long time. Now it's in a prime residential/commercial area near parks and schools, and it seems hard to believe the agency would even continue to push for it. We've never really bought the agency's argument that it lacked other solutions or the money to find them, but we must credit Lipinski with forcing the issue. We were particularly impressed that he convinced U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.), a ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee, to tour the site in an effort to win his support in the matter. Of course, this is only part of the battle. Army Corps officials have said in the past they don't have the money to buy another dump site and would need to get the land for free before they'd consider it. Well, we'll cross that pit when we get to it. For now, we look forward to seeing what the experts have to say when their analysis is finished.   Lipinski Helps Pass New Foreign Surveillance Authorization that Protects America's Security and Protects Americans' Rights Lipinski said that the rights of Americans are being protected with this bill, which requires new oversight of surveillance operations by the secret court established in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. (reported by the Southwest News Herald January 2, 2008) On November 15, 2007 Congressman Lipinski helped pass H.R. 3773, the RESTORE Act. This important piece of legislation, which was supported overwhelmingly by House Democrats, provides U.S. intelligence agencies with the tools they need to monitor the activities and communications of terrorists while protecting the privacy and rights of all Americans. “I believe this bill strikes the correct balance between security needs and the Constitutional rights of all Americans, and I am pleased that House Democrats were able to craft and pass this bill,” said Rep. Lipinski. This bill gives new oversight capabilities to the court charged with overseeing U.S. surveillance operations. And, it requires a warrant for any surveillance of communications involving U.S. citizens or taking place on U.S. soil. This legislation is currently pending consideration in the Senate.

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