{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-delivers-opening-statement-at-epw-subcommittee-hearing-on-natural-disaster-clean-ups", "Rounds Delivers Opening Statement at EPW Subcommittee Hearing on Natural Disaster Clean Ups", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Mike Rounds", "R000605", "www.rounds.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.06.17\n\t\t\t Rounds Delivers Opening Statement at EPW Subcommittee Hearing on Natural Disaster Clean Ups \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTONU.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight, today delivered his opening statement at a hearing entitled Challenges Facing Superfund and Waste Cleanup Efforts Following Natural Disasters.\r\n\r\nToday this subcommittee will conduct a review of the response, remediation and recovery challenges faced by states and public officials tasked with securing superfund sites and managing waste debris in the aftermath of these natural disasters, said Rounds in his opening remarks. Our goal today is to conduct oversight on the agency coordination among federal, state, and local officials following these destructive events. We will also hear about the preparations that were made to secure superfund sites in advance of these natural disasters occurring, and hear suggestions on how the planning and preparation for natural disasters can be improved.\r\n\r\nRounds' remarks as prepared for delivery:\r\n\r\nThe Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight is meeting today to conduct a hearing entitled Challenges Facing Superfund and Waste Cleanup Efforts Following Natural Disasters.\r\n\r\nIn the past four months, three major hurricanes brought record-setting flooding and rainfall in Texas, the Gulf Region, and the Caribbean. \r\n\r\nThey also threatened the dozens of contaminated superfund sites that were located in their path.\r\n\r\nFurther, in October, deadly wildfires scorched over 245,000 acres in California. \r\n\r\nThese wildfires left an estimated $85 billion dollars of economic damage in their wake.\r\n\r\nThis hearing is especially appropriate today as California again finds itself facing wildfires in Southern California.\r\n\r\nThese ongoing fires have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.\r\n\r\nNatural disasters such as these not only cause loss of life, but also billions of dollars in damage to the economy, infrastructure, and homes. \r\n\r\nThey also have the potential to expose communities and the environment to hazardous chemicals stemming from contaminated superfund sites that could be damaged by the storm.\r\n\r\nThe Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, also known as CERCLA, was created to manage hazardous substances and to respond to environmental emergencies, spills, and natural disasters.\r\n\r\nAs the lead agency, the EPA coordinates cleanups, hazardous waste management, and emergency responses with various other federal agencies, such as FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps, as well as state and local officials.\r\n\r\nThroughout Hurricane Harvey, the EPA worked with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to secure dozens of superfund sites in the Houston area and monitor for potential leaks from the sites.\r\n\r\nFollowing the hurricane, the EPA used aerial imaging to conduct assessments of these sites but state and federal officials faced significant challenges in accessing these sites for testing.\r\n\r\nOf the thirteen sites the EPA identified as being possibly damaged, only two were immediately accessible for sampling. \r\n\r\nThe remaining eleven were inaccessible due to flood waters, requiring officials to wait until the waters receded before the sites could be evaluated.\r\n\r\nShortly after Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma threatened 22 current or former National Priority List sites within Florida's southernmost 100 miles.\r\n\r\nIn anticipation of the hurricane, technical staff in the EPA Region 4 office reviewed sites to secure any potential vulnerabilities and many of these sites remained secure after Irma made landfall.\r\n\r\nTwo weeks later, as Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as a category 4 storm, nineteen superfund sites were at risk. \r\n\r\nOf these, five sites in Puerto Rico were deemed especially hazardous to human health and the environment. \r\n\r\nToday, nearly two and a half months after Hurricane Maria made landfall, the relief and remediation effort in Puerto Rico is ongoing.\r\n\r\nIn addition to these deadly hurricanes, throughout the month of October, California experienced some of the deadliest wildfires in its history. \r\n\r\nThese wildfires necessitated a federal cleanup effort that involved hundreds of EPA staff and a weeks-long effort to remove thousands of hazardous waste products, largely consisting of household chemical products, from the area.\r\n\r\nToday this subcommittee will conduct a review of the response, remediation and recovery challenges faced by states and public officials tasked with securing superfund sites and managing waste debris in the aftermath of these natural disasters. \r\n\r\nOur goal today is to conduct oversight on the agency coordination among federal, state, and local officials following these destructive events. \r\n\r\nWe will also hear about the preparations that were made to secure superfund sites in advance of these natural disasters occurring, and hear suggestions on how the planning and preparation for natural disasters can be improved.\r\n\r\nIn general, CERCLA provides substantial discretion to the EPA to expand requirements for disaster planning and post-disaster response.\r\n\r\nBut while CERCLA does provide the EPA with flexibility in disaster planning and remedial actions, there are few statutory requirements for proactive disaster planning and response.\r\n\r\nI am hopeful that today's hearing will provide suggestions for improvement to disaster planning and post-disaster response so we can make certain that in the event of a natural disaster, these sites remain secure and pose no threat to the surrounding communities and environment.\r\n\r\nI'd like to thank our witnesses for being here today and I look forward to hearing your testimony.\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-delivers-opening-statement-at-epw-subcommittee-hearing-on-natural-disaster-clean-ups"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6127119306474924, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}