HURRICANE UNIFIED COMMAND Jefferson Davis Parish August 2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT A GLANCE 8 Drinking Water Plant Assessments 7 Industry Damage Assessments 16 School Lab Assessments Completion Report Since September 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Depart- ment of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) have worked together to address environmental hazards from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to help Jefferson Davis 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 drink- ing water, Throughout Louisiana assessments were conducted at drinking water facilities, of which eight were in Jefferson Davis Parish. 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, 7 facilities in Jefferson Davis Parish were addressed. The site visits and interviews established that em- ployees could return to work at facilities operating in accordance with federal and state regulations. Above: EPA assessing a water treatment plant. Because of concerns that dam- aged chemicals in school biol- ogy and chemistry laboratories could cause a health hazard, EPA and LDEQ conducted as- sessments at 16 schools in Jefferson Davis Parish. Some chemical containers were found to be damaged by the hurricanes, 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 6 schools in Jefferson Davis Parish. Left: EPA testing a chemicals in a school laboratory. Beauregard Jefferson Davis MHParjsFflH ------- |