September 23, 2005
Dear President Bush,
The catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf region
of the United States was only matched by the criminal neglect of
adequate planning and emergency response to this crisis. Will this
failure be a prelude to the aftermath of Katrina and the response
to the approaching Hurricane Rita? On a good day the affected
regions of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and now Texas are also
threatened by hundreds of petro-chemical plants that manufacture,
store and use tons of highly dangerous substances.
Beyond the routine release of pollution from these plants, super
storms such as Katrina can unleash even more serious environmental
and public health hazards. This is especially true for the many
residential communities, farms, rivers, lakes and drinking water
sources located adjacent to petro-chemical plants and Superfund
hazardous waste sites. These hazards from these include:
- oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico from damage to oil rigs and
pipelines;
- planned or unplanned releases of toxic effluent from settling
ponds and lagoons where chemical waste is stored;
- fires, explosions and other unplanned releases caused by
extreme weather conditions;
- contamination of surface water (rivers, lakes and streams),
ground water and drinking water from flooding and other effluent
releases;
- open burning of debris and waste following a storm clean up
that will release unregulated pollutants into the atmosphere and
create large volumes of contaminated ash;
- leaks from thousands of underground or surface storage tanks
containing crude oil, gasoline, heating oil and other hazardous
substances;
- derailments and leaks from rail cars and other storage vessels
containing highly volatile substances such as chlorine, propane,
ammonia and hydrogen fluoride, which also pose catastrophic risks
under normal circumstances - storms and flooding can undermine
track beds and foundations rendering them even more vulnerable to
disastrous releases of deadly chemicals;
- many of these impacts will be felt hardest by low income
communities and communities of color who for decades have suffered
disproportionately harmful effects from the polluting industries in
this region on their health, environment and economic well
being.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the primary
federal agency charged with implementing the Clean Water Act,
Clean Air Act (112r), the Safe Drinking Water Act, Superfund
(CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation Recovery Act. No other
federal agency has more experience with these facilities. EPA
regulations under the Clean Water Act require facilities to have
spill prevention plans in place and the Clean Air Act require
facilities to have a plans to prevent catastrophic releases of
dangerous chemicals.
On June 24, 2002 the Times-Picayune headline said it all, "The
Big One; A major hurricane could decimate the region, but flooding
from even a moderate storm could kill thousands. It's just a matter
of time." University and government experts warned that a storm
hitting New Orleans could leave "hundreds of thousands
homeless…survivors will end up trapped on roofs…floodwater could
become contaminated with sewage and with toxic chemicals…With few
homes left undamaged, Red Cross and FEMA officials will have to
find property for long-term temporary housing for a possible 1
million refugees."
Because the catastrophic impacts of this storm, particularly in
New Orleans, have been predicted for many years in scientific
studies and also in the news media, the failure of the federal
government to preemptively respond forcefully and effectively has
raised many questions about what will done in the aftermath to
clean up and rebuild the many communities that have been
devastated.
On behalf of the millions of victims of Hurricane Katrina and
future hurricanes, we would like to know much more about the EPA's
emergency preparedness and response to this crisis, including:
1. What disaster plans and guidance to industry prior to
hurricanes Katrina and Rita did the Bush administration undertake
to ensure that there were no unregulated releases of hazardous
substances from the petro-chemical industry located in the path of
hurricanes?
2. What inspections and monitoring is the EPA planning to
conduct to ensure that petro-chemical facilities adhered to their
statutory obligations to prevent leaks, spills and other
releases?
3. The EPA currently suggests that people clean their homes and
boil water before drinking following a flood or hurricane. Please
explain EPA's plans to conduct comprehensive testing of local
homes, community soils and drinking water (including private wells
and public drinking water systems) for toxic chemical
contamination. What is your plan to assure displaced victims that
their homes are safe and to clean up or replace, if necessary,
those homes that have been contaminated?
4. Where contamination is discovered what is the EPA's plan to
track the sources of contamination and require potentially
responsible parties to clean up or pay for the clean up of their
pollution?
5. What environmental monitoring is the EPA planning to assess
the impact polluted flood waters and oil spills on the fishing
industry, protected marine life, beaches, coastal wetlands and
damage to coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico?
6. What environmental monitoring is the EPA planning to assess
the impact on agriculture in the impacted states?
7. What is the status of EPA rules and procedures regarding the
unregulated open burning of debris or structures damaged during the
hurricane? In particular, if unregulated burning is permitted
please outline EPA plans to monitor the release of dangerous
pollutants, such as dioxins and furans from such burning.
8. What is the reconstruction plan? Will it be geared toward
preserving existing communities; learning the lessons and warnings
mentioned above so that we do not repeat the over development of
polluting and unsustainable industries saturated the region (oil,
gas & chemicals)?
9. The magnitude of the damage to New Orleans was widely
predicted. Will reconstruction focus on preventing further loss of
life and dislocation in the short term and preventing a
reoccurrence of catastrophic damage to the region in the long
run?
10. In addition to the EPA, what other relevant agencies are you
involving, such as the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board, to ensure that there are no further releases
of hazardous chemicals and oil in the Gulf region, including those
facilities now threatened by Hurricane Rita?
We look forward to your immediate response.
Sincerely,
Rick Hind
Legislative Director, Toxics Campaign