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Response to Hurricane Katrina

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April 2006

EPA has conducted more than 5,200 incident responses since deploying emergency response personnel following the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi and Alabama coastline. An incident response is defined as an investigation of a National Response Center Report, contacting facilities, and reporting hazmat debris while conducting land or water assessment in the affected areas.

Additionally, The Incident Management Team has defined “areas of concern” in each Division based on storm surge and level of damage. There are a total of 171,548 parcels in the defined area. To date, 171,241 parcels have been assessed. Of those parcels, 170,493 are complete.

With input from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and local municipalities, EPA has begun the process of establishing strategically located Temporary Staging Areas (TSA’s). These small sized TSA’s will be located in Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, and Biloxi, Miss.

The purpose of the TSA’s is to eliminate the need for continued “ESF 10 sweeping” of streets by ERRS crews. During these final stages of recovery, EPA will continue to facilitate the collection of Emergency Support Function-10 (ESF-10) materials while simultaneously providing a familiar, “centralized” location for local municipalities to stage ESF-10 Material until arrangements can be made for disposal.

Currently, two TSA’s have been established. One TSA is located in Biloxi, Mississippi and one TSA is located in Pass Christian, Miss. An appropriate TSA location within Bay St. Louis is still being pursued.

Furthermore, five additional “Amnesty Day” events will be coordinated and scheduled for targeted areas within Hancock County. These events will be held Saturdays up until May 20, 2006.

Assessment and Removal Team Activity
EPA is operating under three divisions that were formed to address Hancock (Division A), Harrison (Division B), and Jackson, Mississippi Mobile and Baldwin, Alabama (Division C) counties, which are the most affected areas along the coast. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is serving as liaison between EPA and the three divisions. Coastal Mississippi experienced storm surge flooding of 18 to 22 feet above normal tide levels and significant rainfall amounts during Hurricane Katrina.

Division A – Hancock County, Miss.
Total Parcels – 51,680
Assessed Parcels - 51,679
Parcels Complete– 51,102

April 1 – 4
The Division collected open items from Pass Christian, Waveland, and Bay St. Louis and items called in by the Corps of Engineers and local residents. A total of 2,068 items were collected.

April 5 – 11
The team continued field operations in Pearlington, Bay St. Louis and Waveland and continued collecting open items and items called in by the COE for pickup. A total of 2,954 items were collected.

Division B / Division Charlie – Harrison County, Miss. / Jackson County, Miss.
Division B
Total Parcels – 65,196
Assessed Parcels - 65,196
Parcels Complete– 65,196

Division C
Total Parcels- 54,672
Assessed Parcels- 54,366
Parcels Complete- 54,195

April 1 - 4
Four teams operated in the field in Division Bravo/Charlie. Team 1 was accompanied by an ERRS crew to perform removal operations at a residential property in Moss Point. The property was identified by an ESF-10 assessment team earlier in the week. By the end of the day, the crew had removed 14 55-gallon drums, eight batteries, one compressed gas cylinder, four fuel tanks, and one 1,250-gallon AST.

Team 2 continued ESF-10 assessment and clearance in the St. Martin area, along the north side of Biloxi Bay. Parcels included small wooded lots and areas that had not been assessed as well as clearing incomplete parcels. The Team picked up about 15 miscellaneous HHW items and identified several compressed gas cylinders for ERRS pick-up.

Team 5 conducted ESF-10 assessment and clearance in the Gulf Hills area. Parcels included small wooded lots and areas that had not been assessed as well as clearing incomplete parcels.

Team 6 completed re-assessment of commercial properties in Jackson County. They re-assessed one property previously identified by ESF-10 assessment teams and began sweeping commercial and industrial corridors in the Escatawpa, Moss Point, and Pascagoula vicinity. The Team is training contractors to establish a second commercial assessment team and tentatively sweep all commercial/industrial corridors in Jackson County by the end of next week.

April 5 – 11
Removal Team 1 conducted boat operations along the West Pascagoula River today. They recovered eight 55-gallon drums, five 5-gallon containers, one 15-gallon container, two containers less than 5-gallons, and one compressed gas cylinder. They returned to Jackson County to remove a 5,000-gallon AST.

The Team also conducted removal operations north of Vancleave, Miss. They removed a 5,000-gallon AST with residual fuel as well as two 55-gallon drums and 17 miscellaneous HHW containers less than 5-gallons.

Removal Team 2 conducted Open Items pick-ups in Pass Christian. They recovered three 5-gallon containers, a bag of ammunition, an automobile fuel tank, a bottle of muriatic acid, and a gas can. They also assisted Team 1 with removal operations in Vancleave, Miss. Team 2 completed ESF-10 assessment and clearance in the St. Martin area. Parcels included small wooded lots and areas that had not been assessed as well as clearing incomplete parcels.

The team also conducted Open Items pick-ups in Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, and Biloxi. They recovered one 55-gallon drum, four 5-gallon containers, two propane tanks, two fuel tanks, three gas cans, four batteries, and nine containers less than 5-gallons. While in these areas they also re-assessed and completed several inaccessible/wooded parcels.

Team 4 continued ESF-10 assessment and clearance in the Hickory Hills area. Parcels included small wooded lots, areas that had not been assessed as well as re-assessing incomplete parcels. The Team recovered a few smaller HHW items and identified a large AST in the southeastern corner of the Grid.

Team 4 also completed ESF-10 assessment and clearance in their area of responsibility. Parcels included small wooded lots, areas that had not been assessed as well as re-assessing incomplete parcels. This Team is now dissolved as ESF-10 activities continue to wind down.

Team 5 continued ESF-10 assessment and clearance in the Gulf Park Estates/Gautier area. Parcels included small wooded lots and areas that had not been assessed as well as clearing incomplete parcels. The Team found several small items and identified areas requiring further ATV operations.

Team 5 also continued ESF-10 assessment and clearance in the Gautier area. Parcels included small wooded lots well as clearing incomplete parcels.

Team 6 completed assessment of commercial and industrial corridors in Jackson County. They were working in Hickory Hills, western Gautier, and a few areas north of I-10 and Moss Point.

Team 6 completed re-visiting all suspicious commercial properties located in the surge area of Jackson County as well as all associated paperwork.

Air Monitoring
EPA Air Division PM 2.5 monitoring data can be seen at https://www.epa.gov/air/katrina/pm25.html

 

Historical Responses

Emergency Fuel Waiver for AL, FL, LA, MS

 

 

 

 


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