Law Department notice on WTC document preservation, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document Appendix Q EPA Response fo the Draft Report a UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (sz WASHINGTON, D.C, 20460 oui Ge OFPPRE OF THE ADMIBRISTRATOR MEMORANDUM SUBJECT: Transmittal Memorandum for EPA's Responss to inspector Geearal’s (Draft) Evaluation Report: “EPA’s Response to the World Trade Center Cotlapse -- Challenges, Success, and improvements.” {Assignment Naniber: 20020000702} FROM: Marianne Lamont Harinko Aq at L. fh Acting Administrator TO: Nikki Tinstcy Inspector General This memorandum transmits the Agency's consolidated response to the subject draft report (“Draft Report”). With this means, I formally request that EPA's canuments be included 4s part of the final version of the official report. The unprecedented terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the enormity of its af } red i leeds Whe ewew neck ou & Spe ene ag response. While the Draft Report acknowledges the situation that the uation -- and New York inote 7 City in particular -~- confronted following the disaster, the nature of its criticisrns, conclusions and recommendations do nat reflect those circumstances. in fact, this document is infected with the attitude that somehow “business as agual” conduct shoukl have prevailed. Jam exceedingly proud of the response that the men and worsen of EPA made in the aftermath of the World Trade Center collapse. Along with other first cesponders, our people were there within hours of the artaok and hundreds of cur specialists devoted long hours under difficult conditions to provide assistance and information. EPA responded with its heart as welll as its science to protect the health of the public and the workers involved in rescuc and recovery. In all, we took over 25,000 sampics and conducted a quarter of a million measurements of nearly 700 potential contaminants. EPA's response was extraordinary, especially when examined in the chaotic context in which we and other governing bodies found ourselves. EPA began monitoring immediately for contaminants ~ without benchmarks or standards that applied to the disaster situation such as ambient asbestos -- and we did it without electricity, in the midst of firefighting and rescue I 117 Report No. 2003-P-00012 NYC-WTC_000145472