[CPEO-BIF] NRDC Statement: "Rebuilding for a Safer Future"

[lsiegel@cpeo.org]

REBUILDING FOR A SAFER FUTURE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Natural Resources Defense Council 
September 15, 2005

NEW YORK -- Not since the Chicago fire or the San Francisco earthquake
has America faced the task of rebuilding an entire city. Not since the
Civil War have we faced devastation on the scale facing New Orleans and
the Gulf Coast today. And never before have such challenges been steeped
in a soup of modern industrial and biological hazards, or played out
against such profound social inequity.

At the same time, reconstruction is an unprecedented opportunity to
right many of the wrongs imposed on poor, largely minority communities,
and to start fixing natural coastal barriers that have nearly been
destroyed by decades of industrial misuse and government-sponsored
re-engineering gone awry.

It is also a chance to protect consumers against energy price shocks and
to recognize that global warming may indeed be increasing the
destructive power of tropical storms.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has a team of outstanding
experts on health, toxic waste, urban design, coastal protection and
energy. We are preparing a series of recommendations to guide the
rebuilding effort, which will be released next week.

Following are key factors that must be tackled in any rebuilding plan --
both now and over the long term.

1. Protect Gulf Coast Communities from Toxic and Biological Hazards

Katrina caused at least seven major oil spills (totaling 6 million
gallons), along with scores of smaller oil and hazardous spills and
leaks. There are more than 60 major industrial facilities and at least
four Superfund sites in the New Orleans area alone, and many more in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Yet monitoring so far has only been
conducted at a handful of sites for a limited number of contaminants.

The Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and independent experts should immediately broaden toxicity
testing of water, sediments and soils. Immediate widespread testing of
water, sediment, and dried mud as well as monitoring first responders'
exposure is critical to ensuring the safety of cleanup workers,
returning residents, and for identifying toxic hotspots for containment
and cleanup.

Also, there is currently no definitive situational assessment of large
sites in the region housing concentrated chemical, toxic or biological
risks. Big industrial facilities, Superfund sites and other toxic
hotspots should immediately be catalogued, evaluated and tested, and any
known or potential releases contained immediately. Failure to act will
threaten returning citizens and will increase long-term cleanup costs as
toxins spread to larger areas.

2. Restore Safe Drinking Water and Sewage Systems

Even before the storm, federal cutbacks had left public drinking water
and waste treatment facilities dangerously strapped for funds. Katrina
devastated more than 1,000 local systems, leaving at least 2.4 million
people without access to safe drinking water. Many facilities not
directly damaged in the storm must contend with flooding, toxics and
bacteria, and saltwater contamination.

Communities need immediate help from federal officials to evaluate the
damage, and they need substantial financial assistance to repair the
water infrastructure quickly. Bottled water or other alternative safe
water supplies should be provided in the interim.

3. Rebuild for a Safe, Secure, Sustainable Future

For all its charm, New Orleans has long been beset with social, economic
and environmental neglect. Now is a chance to restore the city's
19th-century elegance using the wisdom and technology of the 21st
century. That means building energy-efficient, weather-resistant housing
designed according to voluntary federal standards that save money and
improve comfort for people who live there, no matter what their income.

And it means family-friendly, mixed-use, mixed-income walkable
communities like many affected areas had in earlier days. Planners and
developers should take care to avoid unprotected floodplains and areas
of the coastline that are fundamentally unstable. This is also an
opportunity to relocate dangerous oil and chemical facilities away from
residential neighborhoods.

4. Involve Local Communities in Deciding Their Futures

Nobody is better positioned to understand the needs (or the
opportunities) in communities affected by the storm than the people who
live there. Federal assistance is critical, but so is local involvement.
But to date, there has been virtually no public participation in most
decisions on risks, cleanup, rebuilding or other important matters. Most
shots are being called by federal officials, some with modest
consultation with state officials. Citizens have been quite literally
left in the dark with no opportunity for input.

5. Restore Natural Coastal Buffers that Protect Against Storms

A century of bad planning and industrial abuse has stripped away much of
the Gulf Coast's natural protection against storms and flooding. More
than 1 million acres of coastal wetlands in Louisiana have been drained,
lost to development or starved of the Mississippi River sediments they
need to survive. These wetlands could have absorbed storm surge and
floodwaters, substantially reducing the storm's impact. We must adopt a
major coastal wetland restoration program in the wake of Katrina to
build back what we ourselves destroyed.

6. Protect American Consumers from Storm-Related Energy Price Spikes

Katrina sent oil and natural gas prices skyrocketing. While the worst
panic-induced run up has abated, prices remain extremely high and
experts are predicting a painfully expensive winter heating season. Some
people propose drilling in even more sensitive coastal areas -- which
only increases the weather risk -- or in the last reserves of natural
wilderness on land. But that is not the answer.

America has just 3 percent of world oil reserves, compared with 65
percent in the Persian Gulf. The only real solution is to reduce the
amount of energy we need to keep the economy humming. That means
stronger fuel economy performance standards for cars and trucks, and
rules requiring more efficient heating and air conditioning equipment,
and other technologies -- two policies the Bush administration has
actively opposed.

7. Fight the Added Impact of Global Warming

So far as we know, global warming doesn't cause hurricanes. But most
experts agree the warming climate caused by heat-trapping pollution is
adding fuel to tropical storms -- elevating Category 3 storms into
Category 4, and so forth. A hotter climate also means more flood risk
due to rising sea levels caused by melting polar ice caps and thermal
expansion of the water itself.

We have the technology to reduce the emissions responsible for the
problem; what we lack is leadership. There is growing bipartisan support
in Congress and many states for concrete, market-based limits on global
warming pollution. But the Bush administration has long opposed any
meaningful action to fix the problem. It's time for us to meet this
devastating threat head-on, before the costs become too high.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit
organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists
dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in
1970, NRDC has more than 1 million members and online activists
nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and
San Francisco. 

For the original press release, see 
http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/050915a.asp 

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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