Interagency WTC coordination, March 27 2002 afternoon

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

that the EPA has the mandate to coordinate all response efforts taken to remediate hazardous materials, including contamination inside buildings."

"I cannot understand why the Administration is letting the plight of the residents of Ground Zero fall on deaf ears," he added.

The National Contingency Plan is authorized by the CERCLA statute (42 USC §9604), and provides the framework for EPA's response to the release of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants.

Commenting on EPA Regional Administrator Kenny's statement in the press release that "Actions speak louder than words..." Rep. Nadler said, "When it comes to the needs of the residents and workers who have been victims of the terrorist attack, the EPA refuses even to mouth the right words, let alone perform any actions on indoor environments that would ensure the health and safety of people living and working in and around Ground Zero."

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Rep. Nadler pointed out that in a speech delivered by EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman in November 2001, she acknowledged the EPA's responsibility for cleanup of buildings contaminated in a terrorist attack.

Under the Presidential Decision Directive 62, signed by then-President Clinton in 1998, she said, "the EPA is assigned lead responsibility for cleaning up buildings and other sites contaminated by chemical or biological agents as a result of an act of terrorism."

"If Administrator Whitman was so clear on the duties and responsibilities in November 2001, why did she not enforce them two months earlier, and why does the EPA continue to shirk its duties more than six months after the attack," asked Rep. Nadler.

Rep. Nadler was elected to Congress in 1992. He represents the 8th Congressional District in New York, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, including the area now known as Ground Zero.

EPA RELEASE FOLLOWS:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- Region 2 >New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands >290 Broadway - New York, New York 10007-1866 >www.epa.gov/region2

>EPA - Mary Mears, 212-637-3669 >NYC - Frank McCarton (OEM), 718-422-4888

>FEDERAL, STATE AND CITY AGENCIES ANNOUNCE ACTIONS FOR LOWER >MANHATTAN AIR QUALITY

>FOR RELEASE: Monday, March 25, 2002

>(#02114) New York, New York - Today the Environmental Protection

NYC-WTC 000160715