DEP Public Affairs fax cover sheet, Jul 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

301-1-27-2002 10:47 NYC D.E.F. PUBLIC AFFAIRS H P.03/03

QUESTIONS FOR THE DEP:

11. According to February 11. 2002 testimony given to a Senate Subcommittee hearing by i DEP Commissioner Joel Miele, the city took on the lead for testing indoor air, while the i EPA took on the responsibility for testing outdoor air conditions. He also testified that the i’DEP then placed responsibility for testing and remediating indoor common spaces on I landlords and property owners, and indoor private spaces on tenants. First, 1 simply want ! to confirm this.

i 2. How was the decision made that the DEP would handle this responsibility, rather than i the EPA? I think this question goes to the “charge” of the EPA vs. the “charge" of the I NYC DEP, and so I would like a comment from the DPA on how this responsibility does (or does not) fit the DEP’s mission. The reason I ask this question is that some lawyers i and activists are now saying that this really should have been the job of the EPA. and that ! the EPA shirked its responsibility by unfairly asking the DEP to do this. But it also i seems that the DEP would not have taken on the responsibility if, somehow, it did not I seem to fit into the DEP’s charge.

1:3. Did the DEP do any testing of indoor air at all in any buildings, or was this entirely the ’ responsibility of the building landlords and property owners, as suggested by the i Commissioner’s testimony?

! 4. What guidelines/instructions did the DEP offer to property owners for doing indoor air ' testing of their common spaces? (I have talked to some property managers who claim i they got no direction on this issue.) And was any monitoring system put in place to ; follow whether or not property owners did do testing? (i.e. were they required to file their ; test results or get permits certifying that they did tests before tenants moved back in?) , > ! Congressman Nadler’s office charges that no oversight was in place.

j 5.Was any city money available to help landlords pay for testing, or was this their i responsibility (presumably through insurance)?

i 6. As you probably are aware, some citizen groups and environmental groups claim that^^ **h**«““ ! the type of testing the DEP asked building owners to do would not properly detect ! hazardous materials in dust from the WTC. Can the DEP respond to that claim?

I 7. Please add any additional or further comments that you feel may be important that 1 j did not specifically ask, ! (I i I

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