Gina McCarthy and the EPA (part 2): No use crying over spilled wastewater

Read My Lips: The U.S. Government did NOT try to dupe the Indians, again - You can trust me!

More from Gina McCarthy, the administrator for the U.S. Environmental Pollution Protection Agency (EPA)

I posted previously about her role in the Flint Water crisis.  Apparently that was not her only rodeo.

The Gold King Mine spill:

On August 5, 2015, an EPA-led crew uncorked 1 MILLION* gallons of contaminated orange wastewater during a mine clean-up project.  The contamination spread from Cement Creek and into the Animas River in Colorado, then poured into the San Juan River in New Mexico, which runs through the Navajo Nation, and also runs toward Lake Powell in Utah.  Three state governors declared a state of emergency.

Aw, f**k!  Not again!

A congressional hearing was called by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, but McCarthy refused to provide witnesses for the hearing.  This prompted the committee to issue her a subpoena.

According to the article, “The committee members blasted the EPA for its lack of cooperation in aiding the panel in its oversight role on the Aug. 5 spill”.

The committee chairman, John Barrasso stated:
“I am troubled further that the EPA would disregard such failures and attempt to avoid the responsibility by refusing to appear before the committee and answer questions; this sort of behavior is unbecoming of any federal official and won’t be tolerated.”

Although McCarthy says her office continues to cooperate with the committees, the committee members have said the EPA has been unresponsive to their requests for information.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Navajo Nation has accused the EPA of pressuring the Native Americans to waive their rights to future compensation (possibly by offering immediate reimbursements).  According to the Navajo President, Russell Begaye, EPA workers were going door to door on his reservation asking residents to sign claim forms appearing to waive their rights.

Begaye stated that EPA workers were approaching elderly Navajo farmers and ranchers who may not speak English as their first language and might have a difficult time understanding the form.

Gina McCarthy has called the water spill accident “a heartbreaking situation for the EPA”.  I think she may have meant bank-breaking.

This accident could have been avoided.  At the very least, the EPA could have given their full and immediate cooperation to the congressional investigation.  They did not.

So there you have it. If women ran the world.

Up Yours, Utah!  Same to the rest of you!!

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Sources:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/13/epa-mccarthy-subpoenaed-testify-gold-king-spill/

*The Washington Times article from April 13 states in the main article that 3 million gallons were spilled, but the accompanying photo caption says 1 million gallons.  Another source (not listed) also said it was 1 million, so that is the figure I used for my post (the Washington Times text might be a typographical error).



http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/13/epa-denies-navajo-pressure-to-waive-rights-to-futu/

Go Red Sox!!!!

Gina McCarthy and the EPA: Dense as lead

(brainless) Head of the EPA, Gina McCarthy

It has often been said that “if women ran the world . . .” things would be better, because women are supposedly more “moral” (blah blah blah).

So let’s take a look at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Gina McCarthy (a woman) is the current Administrator (head) of the EPA (she had been appointed as assistant administrator of the EPA Office of Air and Radiation in 2009 by President Obama).

She (along with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder) were the subject of a Congressional Hearing.

She has been implicated in the Flint Water crisis, where the City of Flint, MI had switched over from treated drinking water to an untreated water source in order to save money.  It was eventually discovered that the water was tainted with lead.  Residents, especially children, suffered health problems due to lead poisoning.

I'll beat this rap . . .

The EPA, under the leadership of McCarthy, did nothing.  An internal EPA report listing concerns about lead levels in the water was ignored for months.  And what was McCarthy’s response to this?

“Because of the complexity of lead, we did not and could not have made a concerted judgment about whether it was a systemic problem."

Really, McCarthy?  What a load of BS.

McCarthy then added that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) had told the EPA that they had implemented corrosion controls in Flint, when they hadn't actually done so.  According to McCarthy:

“In hindsight, we should not have been so trusting of the State for so long when they provided us with overly simplistic assurances of technical compliance rather than substantive responses to our growing concerns.”
“We were strong-armed, we were misled, we were kept at arm's length, we couldn't do our jobs effectively.”

Strong-armed?  Really?  You are the EPA, a Federal Agency, and you were ‘strong-armed’ by a state agency who (according to McCarthy) has a strong relationship with the EPA? (her own words as per the transcript from the congressional hearings).  So the EPA couldn’t send someone out there to test the water or ask questions?

I tried but they wouldn't listen! Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!

She then goes on to say:

“Although EPA regional staff repeatedly urged the MDEQ to address the lack of corrosion control [which results in lead from pipes leaching into the water], we missed the opportunity late last summer to quickly get EPA’s concerns on the public’s radar screen.”

What does she mean “we missed the opportunity late last summer”?  Does the EPA only make announcements during summer vacation?  Do they go back to school in the fall or something?  Do the seasons prevent them from making announcements?

Honest to god this bitch woman is so full of BS.

Even after this fiasco, the idiot White House continues to stand by her.  Maybe since they had to fire their (female) head of the Secret Service (Julia Pierson) relatively recently (October 2014), they didn't want to appear "anti-woman" (I'll write about Pierson in another post).  So even though this must be a major embarrassment for the White House, she still gets to keep her job.

Nyaah-Nyaah!  You can't make me resign!

 _______________________________

Another woman, the (former) director of the EPA’s Midwest regional office (located in Chicago), Susan Hedman, defended the actions of the EPA.  Speaking at a congressional hearing, she stated:

"I don't think anyone at EPA did anything wrong, but I do believe we could have done more."

Susan Headless Hedman, former regional head for the EPA.  She don't look too happy . . .

According to the scientist who exposed the water problem in Flint, Hedman ignored or downplayed his warnings regarding the dangerously high levels of lead in the drinking water.

Susan Heder in a canoe- Maybe she should try canoeing in the waters of Flint, Michigan

Here are the people who McCarthy, Heder, Rick Snyder, and all others like them betrayed:

McCarthy taking advantage of a photo op with a Black Child (African-Americans make up the largest ethnic group in Flint, MI).  Hopefully the poor child isn't dying of lead exposure on her couch.

Again, just to be clear (for those feminist dolts out there): I am not saying that men are necessarily better than women; I am simply saying that women are no better than men.  Ergo, there would be no improvement in world affairs if women were in charge.

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Sources:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/17/470792212/watch-michigan-gov-rick-snyder-testifies-on-the-flint-water-crisis

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/ct-epa-flint-water-crisis-20160315-story.html

 Text of official Transcript of Gina McCarthy's statement at congressional hearing:

Testimony of Gina McCarthy
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
March 17, 2016

Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Cummings, distinguished Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify about EPA’s response to the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

I want to start by saying what happened in Flint should not have happened and can never happen again. The crisis we’re seeing was the result of a state-appointed emergency manager deciding that the City would stop purchasing treated drinking water and instead switch to an untreated source to save money. The State of Michigan approved that decision, and did so without requiring corrosion control treatment. Without corrosion control, lead from pipes, fittings and fixtures can leach into the drinking water. These decisions resulted in Flint residents being exposed to dangerously high levels of lead.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, Congress gives states the primary responsibility to enforce drinking water rules for the nation’s approximately 152,000 water systems, but EPA has oversight authority. Typically, EPA has a strong relationship with states under the Act. But looking back on Flint, from day one, the state provided our regional office with confusing, incomplete and incorrect information. Their interactions with us were intransigent, misleading and contentious. As a result, EPA staff were unable to understand the potential scope of the lead problem until a year after the switch and had insufficient information to indicate a systemic lead problem until mid-summer of 2015.

While EPA did not cause the lead problem, in hindsight, we should not have been so trusting of the State for so long when they provided us with overly simplistic assurances of technical compliance rather than substantive responses to our growing concerns. Although EPA regional staff repeatedly urged the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, or MDEQ, to address the lack of corrosion control, we missed the opportunity late last summer to quickly get EPA’s concerns on the public’s radar screen.

Since October, EPA has been providing technical advice to the City. Additionally, an EPA response team of scientists, water quality experts, community involvement coordinators, and support staff has been on the ground every day since late January. EPA’s efforts are part of a broader Federal response to the community, led by the Department of Health and Human Services. The EPA team has visited hundreds of homes and collected thousands of samples to assess the City’s water system. We’re encouraged by these test results, but our enhanced efforts with Flint will continue until the system is fully back on track.

We’ve also been engaging Flint residents - visiting places of worship, schools, libraries, community centers, and senior living facilities - to hear their concerns and share information.

I have also taken several concrete steps at the agency to address some of the systemic issues raised during this crisis. I directed a review of MDEQ and its ability to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act. I called on EPA’s inspector general to investigate EPA’s response to the Flint crisis. I issued an EPA-wide elevation memo encouraging staff to raise issues of concern to managers and managers to be welcoming of staff concerns and questions. I also recently sent letters to every governor and every state environmental and health commissioner in the country asking them to work with EPA on infrastructure investments, transparency, technology, oversight, risk assessment, and public education. And I have asked the states to join EPA in taking action to strengthen our safe drinking water programs, to ensure drinking water programs are working for our communities. Additionally, we are actively working on revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule.

While the contours of this situation are unique, the underlying circumstances that allowed it to happen are not. As a country, we have a systemic problem of underinvestment in “environmental justice” communities. Not only are these underserved populations more vulnerable to the health impacts of pollution, but they often lack the tools and resources to do something about it. That’s what stacks the deck against a city like Flint. That’s what creates an environment where a crisis like this can happen.

There are many missteps along the way that can tip the scales toward a crisis. In many areas across our country, water infrastructure is aging, it is antiquated, and it is severely underfunded – particularly in low-income communities, which may have the most difficulty securing traditional funding through rate increases or municipal bonds. This threatens citizens’ access to safe drinking water. We need to start having a serious conversation about how we advance the technologies and investments necessary to deliver clean water to American families.

I’m personally committed to doing everything possible to make sure a crisis like this never happens again. But EPA can’t do it alone. We need the cooperation of our colleagues at every level of Government and beyond. Thank you and I look forward to answering your questions.