[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ADDRESS DETROIT BULK STORAGE COLLAPSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, on November 26, 2019, during the 
Thanksgiving holiday, a dock piled with aggregates collapsed into the 
Detroit River.
  Local and State authorities were slow to communicate with each other, 
and misinformation quickly spread. Concerns about polluted drinking 
water, even radioactive contamination, caused confusion and concern in 
my district. Many of us learned about the collapse from a Canadian 
newspaper, which published an article days after the collapse.
  Over 2 months later, the site continues to deteriorate. The shoreline 
continues to erode, and contaminated soil is still spilling into the 
water. More recently, a sinkhole developed at the site, discharging 
even more contaminants into the water.
  The area's long-serving industrial history was another source of 
concern for public health and the environment. During the 1940s and the 
1950s, the site produced uranium for the development of the atomic 
bomb.
  Recently, the site has been leased to companies openly storing toxic 
chemicals and piles of aggregates along the water.
  Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed in the site owner's lack of urgency to 
quickly fix this problem. Over 2 months later, aggregate is still 
spilling into the water. The owners have failed to address the erosion 
and, now, the emerging sinkhole.
  Mr. Speaker, I join with the EPA and the Michigan Department of 
Environmental, Great Lakes, and Energy, or EGLE, to hold this owner 
accountable to the fullest extent possible.

                              {time}  1030

  The owner has missed key deadlines to submit cleanup plans and, so 
far, their proposals don't even come close to stopping the erosion. If 
it is the responsibility of the violators to clean up their mess, how 
do we know they will do it properly and efficiently?
  I expect our State and Federal agencies to continue to take action to 
safeguard our public health. They are continuing to test the 
surrounding area for contamination and are regularly updating my office 
with test results.
  The risks to our public health cannot be dismissed. My constituents 
have witnessed how government action can help or hurt our communities.
  We cannot forget the Flint water crisis. We witnessed a failure of 
government. Just last year, the Detroit Public Schools shut off its 
drinking fountains after finding elevated lead and copper. In the last 
year, Michigan has led the Nation in active PFAS sites, drawing 
national attention to the efforts of these ``forever chemicals'' in our 
waters.
  We cannot--and I will fight to make sure we do not--repeat the Flint 
water crisis. We must learn from our mistakes. This situation demands a 
sense of urgency to restore the public's faith in our government to 
protect them from being contaminated by water.
  This is why I am continuing to monitor the ongoing cleanup and 
remediation of the collapsed site. While the latest test results showed 
no significant threat to the public health, I will work with the State 
to ensure the site's cleanup and urge the State to push for a third-
party independent study. We have the right to know that the surrounding 
water and the environment is safe from contaminants.
  I will also remain in communication to ensure the drinking water in 
Michigan and--also with government oversight--that we in America have 
safe, clean water, and we must continue the fight for affordable water.
  If there is a threat to our public health, the government has a 
responsibility to safeguard our constituents from harm.

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