Panel agenda for Air Quality After 9/11 conference, March 2004

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

The Inspector General’s report indicates that;

“Initially, building owners were held responsible for cleaning up their own buildings, including interiors and exteriors. According to New York City officials, the issue of funding the cleanup of privately owned buildings was discussed with FEMA and EPA; the initial federal position was that the Stafford Act (the implementing statue for the FRP) did not provide direct ftmding to New York City for this cleanup. New York City officials said that during this discussion they informed the federal agencies that building owners would be responsible for funding the cleanup of their buildings and the federal agencies agreed with this position. Under this arrangement, owners of rental units were responsible for cleaning apartment walls, ceilings, and floors; common areas, such as hallways and lobbies; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, when deemed necessary as explained in guidance provided by New York City. Renters were responsible for cleaning personal belongings. In resident-owned condominiums, residents were responsible for cleaning their units, while building owners were responsible for cleaning common areas and HVAC systems.”

EPA remained inactive on indoor contamination for almost six months before

yielding to public pressure to participate in the cleanup. The Inspector General

reported:

“In February 2002, EPA initiated a multi-agency task force on indoor contamination. The former EPA Chief of Staff told us that EPA initiated this effort because ‘Over time, we saw that New York City was not prepared to handle all the issues related to indoor air and offered to support them.’ The task force developed a plan in which EPA assumed the lead role for overseeing a FEMA-funded cleanup of residences in Lower Manhattan. EPA, New York City, and FEMA officials announced this plan to the public on May 8, 2002. Residents of Lower Manhattan living south of Canal Street could request testing and cleaning of their residences, or just testing. Public registration for the indoor testing and cleaning program ended December 28, 2002.

Many EPA critics feel that this response was inadequate and that it arrived much too late. Joel

Shufi-o and others are quoted in the previously cited article, “Asbestos Spectre Haunts

Manhattan” (9/11/2002), regarding EPA’s late entry into the situation;

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