[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
                      REVERE COPPER DOCK COLLAPSE

  (Ms. TLAIB asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to how 
corporate greed threatens our public health and environment with an 
alarming example from my hometown of Detroit.
  On November 26, 2019, a portion of a dock operated by Detroit Bulk 
Storage collapsed into the Detroit River sending tons of crushed 
limestone into the river, disturbing contaminated river sediment and 
exposing the public and our water supply to the decades of 
contamination buried at this former uranium rod manufacturing site.
  Detroit Bulk Storage took unnecessary risks by overloading its 
failing dock, caused a collapse into the river, and waited 3 days 
before notifying the National Response Center. When they did, they 
merely reported it as a dock collapse with no indication for State or 
Federal regulators of the contamination present at the site and the 
need for urgency.
  Testing from State regulators and the EPA is ongoing, and so far 
tests appear to indicate no significant radiation exposure. However, 
the site's owner, Revere Dock, LLC, continues to drag its feet in 
developing and implementing a restoration plan.
  This is yet another stark reminder that we cannot ever count on 
corporations to put the public interest ahead of their own profits and 
that we need drastic changes to strengthen regulatory tools and to hold 
them accountable to protect our public health.

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