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June 22, 2004

Methamphetamine Remediation Act of 2004

In May of 2004, Ranking Member Bart Gordon convened a roundtable in his district  to highlight the malign influence posed by the expanding use of methamphetamine. As Mr. Gordon noted in a memorandum to other Members of the Committee, "That event highlighted issues where more research, more knowledge or more tools would be useful to law enforcement or social services providers. Among these items would be:

  1. Efficient field testing technologies to allow a first responder to identify a site as a meth lab.
  2. Health studies on the effects of exposure to the chemicals used in producing methamphetamines. This is particularly important for children exposed to meth and for first responders.
  3. The need for environmental remediation of the sites used for production. DEA funds a clean up of all the materials used in production. However, there is no legal requirement that a property be remediated to a safe level. We do not even have clear standards from EPA on what would constitute "clean."
  4. The biochemical and psychological mechanisms involved in addiction to meth and the most effective treatments for that addiction."

Mr. Gordon, joined by Mr. Calvert and Mr. Baird, introduced the Methamphetamine Remediation Act of 2004 to mobilize the resources of the Environmental protection Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to offer help to local governments and law enforcement agencies attempting to clean up the illegal production facilities left behind after arrests fot methamphetamine possession and production.