I was not living in New York on September 11, 2001. If I had been, I would be outraged at the government's response to the contamination spread by the disaster across parts of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn (including the neighborhood I live in now). The then EPA chief, Christine Todd Whitman, assured New Yorkers that the debris was not toxic, with quotes such as "Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington, D.C. that their air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink." A 2003 EPA report from after she left the agency found that she was told by the White House to make these false assurances. What kind of person would accept the job of EPA chief while having such little regard for the health of US citizens? What kind of president would have such little regard for the health of the country's citizens? What kind of people would re-elect a president like that?
A group of people exposed to the debris brought a class action lawsuit against Ms. Whitman. The US District Court Judge who rejected Whitman's request for immunity against the suit said "No reasonable person would have thought that telling thousands of people that it was safe to return to lower Manhattan, while knowing that such return could pose long-term health risks and other dire consequences, was conduct sanctioned by our laws," and called Whitman's actions "conscience-shocking." However, a 3-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit later ruled that no EPA officials can be liable for the statements made in the days after September 11th.
Recently, the GAO come out with its own report that federal government officials deliberately misled New York residents about the safety of working at the site or returning to their apartments. Tomorrow, Whitman will be testifying before a House committee investigating the EPA's actions on the matter. I will be very curious to read about what she says. But it sounds like she will never be prosecuted.
So what justice is available for those who have been or will be suffering from the effects of the pollution? The Senate appropriations subcommittee has included $55 million in the 2008 budget for the testing and treatment of people exposed to the dust. So it looks like us taxpayers will again pay for this administrations lies and ineptitude, while they continue to do and say whatever they want.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
It's a Shame that You Can't Trust the EPA
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Right on TFE! I share your outrage over this. I was glad to hear reports of her appearance before a Congressional committee today, where she apparently faced boos and hisses. (Apparently those were from the spectator's gallery, which was filled with 9/11 rescue workers and family; but I amuse myself by picturing Representatives hissing at her from behind nameplates and microphones.) I mean really, even at the time of Sept 11, people were a little suprised at her confidence in the safety of the air and surroundings. Now of course it's clear just how misguided her assessment was. Apart from the terrible damage to the people on the front lines of the disaster (which is awful enough), what I find most appalling is that here's another example of the Bush administration's outright incompetence-- add the name Whitman to the illustrious ranks of Brown, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Bremer, Wolfowitz... holy CRAP the list is endless. It begs the bigger question though-- what does it take for people to understand that when fruit is rotten on the outside, it ain't any prettier at the core? In other words, peel away the failures and hacks like the list above, and what's at the center of it all... the Executive Branch-- Chief Incompetent and his snarling controller, D. Cheney. Oh wait I forgot, as of this week we just found out that Dick Cheney's NOT part of the Executive Branch after all, and doesn't have to follow any rules that govern it. (Forget the logic-- it's because he said so, that's why.)
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