Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday urged the US Federal Emergance Management Agency to reconsider its decision to conduct a post-clean soil test for wildfires in Los Angeles County.
The request elicited a quick response from FEMA: No.
Federal contractors are removing wildfire debris and 6 inches of topsoil from properties burned in Eaton and Palisades fires. But FEMA said last week it would not order soil testing, a long-term way to ensure property meets California's toxic chemical safety standards.
The decision shocked California elected officials and residents who feared that the property declared by the fire could still contain dangerous concentrations of toxic chemicals in the soil.
Nancy Ward, director of the California Emergency Services Office, wrote a letter to FEMA on Wednesday to call on the agency to reconsider its decision.
“If there is no sufficient soil test, the pollutants caused by the fire may still not be discovered, posing a risk to the returned residents, construction workers and the environment,” Ward wrote in a letter obtained by the Times. “No The ability to identify and remediate these fire-related pollutants may expose individuals to residual materials during reconstruction efforts and may harm groundwater and surface water quality.”
The letter was to Curtis Brown, FEMA federal coordinator, the first sign that California officials were upset with the federal cleanup strategy. Officials announced that federal cleanup workers have just completed the first cleanup of a property in Palisades Fire.
Brown responded to Ward's letter that soil testing jeopardized the speed and budget of cleaning.
“Soil testing will extend rehabilitation for several months,” Brown wrote in his response. “However, FEMA will not prevent state, local governments or personal property owners from doing soil tests if they are willing to do so. Unless the test shows a positive result,” Brown wrote. It is clearly attributed to the fire, otherwise FEMA would not reimburse the cost of soil testing.”
The speed at which debris is cleared has evolved rapidly as federally deployed staff aimed at removing some of the approximately 16,000 buildings destroyed in two wildfires to facilitate a rapid reconstruction process. But some residents and elected officials expressed concern about the thoroughness of the disaster response, including soil sampling.
For nearly two decades, federal or state officials have ordered soil sampling for every major wildfire cleaning effort in California. The procedure is designed to prevent residents from returning lingering pollutants.
About one-third of properties still contain toxic chemicals that exceed California cleaning standards in clearing 2018 camp fires, even though 3 to 6 inches of topsoil were removed from 3 to 6 inches of topsoil After 6 inches. As a result, cleaners were sent to these characteristics to remove more soil and perform subsequent testing.
Ward said in the letter that past soil samples suggest that wildfire-related pollution may be much more than 6 inches. So Ward said soil testing is an essential part of the process.
But Brown clearly disagrees in his answer.
“This practice is boring, inefficient, and is a barrier to timely cleaning and recovery,” Brown wrote in the letter.
If contaminants are found, cleaners will not return to remove other soil, nor will they bring clean soil to increase the highest soil, federal officials said.
Brown wrote: “We encourage the country to conduct soil testing, but [we] We believe that our current practices accelerate recovery while protecting and advancing public health and safety. ”
