OIG

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Excerpts from Background Section of the Draft Report

Early Response

Various circumstances complicated the Government’s and EPA’s ability to respond to environmental concerns in what was an unprecedented and extremely difficult situation. The New York City Office of Emergency Management’s Emergency Operations Center was destroyed in the attacks. EPA’s Region 2 office, about a half-mile from the WTC site, was evacuated and not re-opened until 2 weeks after the attacks. Electrical power was lost in Lower Manhattan, as well as radio, telephone, and^tellite communicatioasi' Further, transportation to Lower Manhattan was restricted ind air travel was halted nationwide. s«=^

As with most disasters, local authorities were the first responders. "Ground Zero," as the seven-building WTC area site would become known, was initially a search and rescue effort under the direction of the Fire Department of New York and, subsequently, a recovery operation under the jurisdiction of the New York City Office of Emergepcy Management. During the recovery phase, which began November 1, 200 j^he New York City Department of Design and Construction arid the Fire Departaent of New York were co-incident commanders. According to New York City’s Deputy Assistant Chief of the Fire Department, "the complexity of the activity performed at one site - rescue, recovery, demolition, and construction - at one time is unprecedented." Immediate response actions to save lives and meet basic human needs took precedi er other considerations, <such as characterizing the site’s environmental conditions^}Further complicating the situatTorTwaEi the faot-that the aiea waTtreated as a"cnme scene, with law enforcement authorities strictly limiting access.

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