NYC Health Commissioner letter to EPA Administrator on WTC air,

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE , Subcommittees JERROLD NADLER 8th District, New York , RANKING MEMBER constitution REPLY TO; COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 7 WASHINGTON OFFICE: 2334 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING TRA^ilSPORTATION AND W WASHINGTON. DC 20515 (202)225-5635 INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE subcommittees

HIGHWAYS AND TRANSIT Cottsress of tfir Sinttcb States DISTRICT OFFICE: 201 VARICK STREET SUITE 669 RAILROADS ilousie of lAcprcscntatibcs NEW YORK. NY 10014 (212)367-7350 regional whip DISTRICT OFFICE: TOaSfjington, 20515 445 NEPTUNE AVENUE COMMUNITY ROOM 2C BROOKLYN. NY 11224 17181373-3198 E-mail: jerrold.nadler p maii.house.gov Web: http://www.hou8e.gov/nadler; March 7, 2002 Christine Todd Whitman Administrator Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20460 Dear Administrator Whitman: Thank you for your letter of February 22,2002 responding to a number of concerns I raised about die Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) actions following the September 11* attacks in New York City. I appreciate your acknowledgement that there are a number of remaining concerns, and I thank you for your stated commitment to address these issues. In that regard, I have a number of questions about your reply. In your letter, you state “The President’s declaration triggered the Federal Response Plan and directed FEMA to coordinate various federal, state, and local agencies and the American Red Cross in carrying out thirteen distinct Emergency Support Functions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has served in a supporting role to the City of New York and the State of New York, consistent with the Federal Response Plan and mission assignments from FEMA.” You also write that “the City assumed responsibility for indoor testing and the reoccupancy of buildings.” However, in documents obtained by the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project, pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, it appears that EPA did environmental assessments of at least some residential and commercial buildings (at the request of the Ground Zero Elected OfFicials Task Force), and that On-Scene Coordinator(s) were working in Lower Manhattan (see Enclosure). I am pleased to learn that EPA has done environmental assessments of some residential and commercial buildings. As you know, I have been requesting that EPA take responsibility for responding to the release of hazardous materials for all indoor spaces in Lower Manhattan. I would like to explore this matter in greater detail, and I -lust now request more information on EPA activities in this regard: • Please provide the name and phone number of the On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) acting in response to the attacks of September 11* 2001 and the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York. If there is, or was, more than one OSC working, please provide the names and phone numbers of all OSCs working, or who have worked, in New York City following September 11* 2001. If there is, or was, more than one OSC working in New York City following September 11*^, 2001, please provide the name and phone number of the person to whom the OSCs reported when carrying out their duties. • Please provide a detailed description, and all documentation, of the OSC’s duties in response to the attacks of September 11* and the collapse of the World Trade Center. • When are, or were, OSC’s on duty in New York City following September 11* 2001? If there is no OSC currently working in New York City in response to the collapse of the World

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