Draft Declaration of Emergency for WTC response, Mar 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY WHEREAS, on September 11,2001, an imforeseen terrorist attack resulted in the tragic destruction of the World Trade Center; and WHEREAS, as a result of said catastrophe, buildings in surrounding areas were damaged, if not destroyed; and WHEREAS, in the aftermath, to minimize further destruction and implications of the attack, various remediation activities were immediately instituted; and WHEREAS, as a follow-up to such activities performed in October and November of 2001, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), in conjunction with the United States Environment^ Protection Agency (USEPA) and the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), performed site visits at buildings in the surrounding vicinity; and

gutters; and WHEREAS, debris was also visible on horizontal surfaces on building facades; and WHEREAS, the above-referenced debris, characteristic of the debris from the impact of September 11,2001, seems to have reformed into a dense caked mass; and WHEREAS, samples collected from the buildings visited indicated that asbestos-containing material may be present; and WHEREAS, NYCDEP, in conjunction with USEPA, has determined that an expedited clean-up of approximately two hundred fifty (250) debris-containing buildings is necessary to protect the health and safety of the public and to ensure that the air quality of the affected area is as pure as possible; and WHEREAS, such clean-up will require the services of asbestos-remediation firms and an air monitoring consultant; and WHEREAS, the area earmarked for such clean-up shall be divided into three (3) sectors, each requiring a remediation contract; and WHEREAS, one air monitoring Contract is anticipated to cover all three sectors; an d WHEREAS, funding for such clean-up shall be provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): and WHEREAS, the immediate action required cannot be met through normal procurement methods; and WHEREAS, the aforementioned circumstances affect the health and safety of the inhabitants of the City of New York. NOW, THEREFORE, for the aforementioned reasons, pursuant to the authority conferred by Section 315 of the New York City Charter and Section 3-06 of the Procurement Policy Board Rules, I hereby determine that an emergency exists; and I FURTHER DETERMINE that emergency contracts) must be let in the most expeditious manner possible to ensure that necessary asbestos rerhediation in the affected area can occur, to monitor and ensure the air quality of the City of New York. Dated: March 20,2002

JOEL A. MIELE SR., P.E. Commissioner

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