DEP letter re EPA WTC cleanup program extension, Jan 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

NEW YORK STATE SENATE •17

Senator Marlin Connor

OFFICE OFTHE MACS "' -L^DER --i’ New York Serr'icrk 1:1:1 = FAX December 23,2002

Honorable Christine Todd Whitman EPA Administrator 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., #1101A Washington, DC 20460

Dear Governor Whitman,

As the State Senator for Ground Zero and the surrounding area, I am writing to urge you to extend the deadline for the EPA cleanup, now slated to end on December 28, 2002.

As it now stands, only 1/6 of the residences located in the designated cleanup area have requested that their homes be cleaned. Worse, only 239 buildings are signed up for full building cleanups. This is simply unacceptable. It is clear that much of the reason that more residents have not asked for the cleanup, is due to a lack of adequate outreach and education about potential contamination throughout the area. This task was the responsibility of your agency and they have clearly failed their mandate. The fact that almost 16 months have passed and this situation has not been addressed is outrageous and must not be allowed to continue.

Given the unprecedented devastation and contamination of the area by the terrorist attacks, your agency must take steps to address this failing immediately, First the cleanup deadline must be extended by at least three months. Then your agency must do a better job of reaching this population and of honestly informing it of the possible dangers to their health if both their residences and their entire buildings are not properly cleaned.

Further, there is no invisible barrier that stopped the WTC dust and contaminants at Canal Street, many other communities have been impacted but have been ignored in this cleanup. That, too, is unacceptable. Both Chinatown and the Lower East Side were heavily impacted and must be made part of the cleanup program. Both areas need much more attention, not just to their very real health needs, but also to the ongoing inadequate

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