[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 477 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 477

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the crisis of 
  Hurricane Katrina should not be used to weaken, waive, or roll back 
 Federal public health, environmental, and environmental justice laws 
                and regulations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2005

   Ms. Solis (for herself, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
Hinchey, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Nadler, Mrs. 
 Capps, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Honda, Mr. Allen, Ms. Baldwin, 
 Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Payne, Mr. Owens, Ms. 
 Matsui, Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. 
  Clyburn, Mr. Berman, Ms. Schwartz of Pennsylvania, Mr. Wexler, Ms. 
Kaptur, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Lee, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Kucinich, Ms. Linda T. 
  Sanchez of California, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Andrews, Ms. Eddie Bernice 
 Johnson of Texas, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Van Hollen, 
   Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mrs. Napolitano, Mrs. Christensen, and Ms. 
 Kilpatrick of Michigan) submitted the following resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the crisis of 
  Hurricane Katrina should not be used to weaken, waive, or roll back 
 Federal public health, environmental, and environmental justice laws 
                and regulations, and for other purposes.

Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Region on August 29, 2005, 
        destroying property, causing massive floods, and resulting in more than 
        $35 billion in insured property losses and over 1,000 deaths;
Whereas expeditiously rebuilding those areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and 
        providing the victims of the storm with normalcy and relief must be the 
        top priorities for the Congress;
Whereas Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff recently commented, ``We 
        are going to have to clean probably the greatest environmental mess we 
        have ever seen in the country as a result of Hurricane Katrina'';
Whereas Hurricane Katrina demonstrates the connection between the health and 
        safety of communities and the health of natural resources;
Whereas many of the hardest hit areas in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast from 
        Hurricane Katrina were low-income and minority communities already 
        facing decades of environmental injustices;
Whereas at least 9 major oil spills, and scores of smaller oil and hazardous 
        substance spills, leaks, and other releases have occurred;
Whereas 60 underground storage tanks, hazardous waste storage facilities, and 
        industrial facilities, and 5 Superfund sites in New Orleans were hit by 
        Hurricane Katrina, yet monitoring reported to date has only been 
        conducted at a handful of sites for a limited number of contaminants;
Whereas nearly 1,000 drinking-water systems were disabled or impaired because of 
        power outages or structural damage, many people have been told to boil 
        their water, and safe drinking water may not be available for the entire 
        population for years to come;
Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency's initial water quality tests found 
        that flood water in New Orleans contains 10 times more E. Coli bacteria 
        than the Agency considers safe for human contact and lead concentrations 
        that exceed drinking water standards, and the mix of contaminants poses 
        a serious disease risk to those wading through the filthy water;
Whereas proper implementation and enforcement of Federal public health and 
        environmental regulations are necessary to protect human health, 
        especially among vulnerable populations, and are necessary in times of 
        emergency to ensure that the response to a disaster does not exacerbate 
        the initial impact;
Whereas major industrial facilities and toxic waste sites disproportionately 
        impact low-income individuals, minorities, children, the elderly, and 
        all underserved communities;
Whereas more than one in four Americans, including 10 million children, live 
        within four miles of a Superfund site, which poses serious public health 
        issues when sites are not cleaned up adequately and in a timely manner;
Whereas the health of low-income and minority communities continues to suffer, 
        largely because of the cumulative impact of all sources of pollution on 
        public health in the acute impact area and the failure to consider 
        cumulative impacts upon siting of new industrial facilities and cleanup 
        of existing toxic communities;
Whereas the addition of poor environmental protection and enforcement to 
        existing health vulnerabilities has only exacerbated the conditions in 
        these communities, which often suffer from higher rates of illness and 
        death in comparison with middle-class, suburban, and more affluent 
        communities;
Whereas Federal public health and environmental statutes provide many 
        opportunities to address environmental risks and hazards in minority- 
        and low-income communities if applied and implemented;
Whereas Executive Order 12898 states that each Federal agency shall make 
        achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and 
        addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human 
        health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and 
        activities on minority populations and low-income populations;
Whereas in 2005, the Congress passed and President Bush signed into law (Pub. L. 
        109-54) language prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency from 
        using appropriated funds to work in contravention of Executive Order 
        12898 and further delay the implementation of this Order, which is 
        critical to achieving environmental and health equity across all 
        community lines;
Whereas environmental cleanup of affected areas must be done in an effective and 
        timely manner to ensure the victims of Hurricane Katrina can return to 
        their homes without enduring preventable environmental or health risks; 
        and
Whereas weakening, waiving, and rolling back Federal public health and 
        environmental protections would further threaten the heavily damaged 
        area of the Gulf Coast, negatively impact the public health of the 
        already most-affected communities, and put public health and the 
        environment at greater future risk at the expense of all communities: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the crisis of Hurricane Katrina and other such 
        disasters should not be used to weaken, waive, or roll back 
        Federal public health, environmental, and environmental justice 
        laws and regulations;
            (2) State, local, and regional authorities must retain 
        their authority for compliance and permitting of industrial and 
        other facilities, and their role in enforcing and implementing 
        monitoring and cleanup regulations;
            (3) testing, monitoring, cleanup, and recovery in the 
        region hit by Hurricane Katrina and other areas of national 
        emergency--
                    (A) should be completed in a manner designed to 
                protect public health and the environment, ensure 
                habitability of the region, and mitigate against the 
                effects of future storms; and
                    (B) should be carried out in compliance with 
                Executive Order 12,898; and
            (4) the Federal rebuilding of communities and the economy 
        of the Gulf Region should be a model of the integrated, 
        diverse, and sustainable society that all Americans desire and 
        deserve.
                                 <all>