Green Party of Louisiana
www.LaGreens.org
September 21, 2005
Contact: Leenie Halbert, 225-615-4905
GREEN PARTY CONDEMNS WEAKENING OF E.P.A. RULES
AFTER KATRINA DISASTER
The Green Party of Louisiana today issued a strong
condemnation of plans to suspend U.S. environmental protections in the
wake of the Katrina disaster.
"The first disaster to hit our state was a
natural one. The one following suspension of EPA rules will be a
human-generated environmental disaster," Leenie Halbert, Co-Chair
of the Louisiana Green Party warned.
A U.S. Senate proposal introduced Thursday would
grant the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator the
authority to waive or modify requirements for any emergency response
related to Hurricane Katrina. The blanket proposal, introduced by Sen.
James Inhofe (R-OK), applies to any project carried out by the EPA.
Halbert predicted that relaxation of environmental
safeguards will lead to an unknown, but predictable, increase in the
death rate in the lower Mississippi Valley, and stated that a limited
suspension of EPA rules to allow burning of some wastes would be
sufficient for the needs to clean up this region.
"There is no reason why there needs to be a
complete waiver of EPA protection for the entire Mississippi Valley
for a period of a year and a half," she said. "Furthermore,
the EPA has been extremely slow in initiating testing of soil and
water samples in the storm-damaged areas and we question if in any
case the agency has the will to demand that pollution be kept in check
during this period."
"Our people already are suffering from living
in what is known as 'Cancer Alley,'" Halbert said. "Now,
they have suffered the loss of their homes and the neglect-seen on
televisions worldwide-of their basic needs in time of disaster. But
this is not enough for the right-wing ideologues who control our
institutions in Washington, and our people are once more going to be
betrayed by this Administration."
The Senate Committee on Public Works, which met
behind closed doors with EPA officials after the hurricane, claims
that the waiver is needed during clean-up of the disaster, according
to Bill Holbrook, from the majority staff of the committee.
Halbert quoted officials of the environmental law
firm Earthjustice, who say that the waiver of eighteen months is too
long a time for environmental protections to be suspend, and echoed
their concerns about the proposed waiver which includes occupational
health and safety laws applying to debris disposal, water management
and reconstruction workers coming to the area.
"This entire maneuver is nothing more than a
cynical attempt to use this disaster to achieve the dismantling of
laws and procedures that have been created to protect our
people," Halbert warned.
