HURRICANE UNIFIED COMMAND Terrebonne Parish August 2006 Completion Report ACCOMPLISHMENTS ATAGUNCE 2 Drinking Water Plant Assessment 101 Wastewater Facility Assessments 35 industiy Damage Assessments 258 Hazardous Materials Containers Collected 3.438 # of Appliances from which Freon was Extracted 49 School Lab Assess- ments Since September 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) have worked together to address environ- mental hazards from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to help Terre- bonne Parish recover. One of EPA and LDEQ's first priorities was to ensure residents returning to all the cities affected by the hurricanes had safe drinking water. Throughout Terrebonne Parish, two assessment were con- ducted at drinking water facili- ties. Similarly, 101 wastewater treatment plants were assessed for damage. St. James St. Charles Jefferson St. Bernard ^Brerretwnr^^l Parish Above: EPA assessing a school chemistry lab. Right: EPA collecting household hazardous waste for disposal or recycle. Next, EPA and LDEQ turned to federally-permitted facilities. The agencies conducted interviews and site visits at hazardous waste storage, transfer or disposal facilities through March 2006. During this time, facilities in southern Louisiana were addressed, including 35 facilities in Terrebonne Parish. The site visits and interviews established that employees could return to work at facilities oper- ating in accordance with federal and state regulations. Because of concerns that damaged chemicals in school biology and chemistry laboratories could cause a health hazard, EPA and LDEQ conducted assessments at schools in southern Louisiana. Some chemical containers were found to be damaged by the hurri- canes, by flood waters and/or from heat exposure. EPA and LDEQ, in coordination with the Louisiana State Police and local fire departments, removed dangerous chemicals from schools in south- ern Louisiana. Forty-nine schools in Terrebonne Parish were as- sessed; chemicals were removed from six of them. ------- |