IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 477 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the crisis of 

Hurricane Katrina should not be used to weaken, waive, or roll back 

Federal public health, environmental, and environmental justice laws 

and regulations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 

Ms. SOLIS (for herself, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. NADLER, 

Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ALLEN, 

Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

PAYNE, Mr. OWENS, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. SCHWARTZ of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. LEE, 

Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. 

CONYERS, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 

BISHOP of New York, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. UDALL of 

Colorado, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and Ms. KILPATRICK

of Michigan) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 

on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the crisis of Hurricane Katrina should not be used to 

weaken, waive, or roll back Federal public health, environmental, and environmental justice laws and regulations, and for other purposes. 
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•HRES 477 IH 

Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Region 

on August 29, 2005, destroying property, causing massive floods, and resulting in more than $35 billion in insured property losses and over 1,000 deaths; 

Whereas expeditiously rebuilding those areas affected by 

Hurricane Katrina and providing the victims of the storm 

with normalcy and relief must be the top priorities for 

the Congress; 

Whereas Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff 

recently commented, ‘‘We are going to have to clean 

probably the greatest environmental mess we have ever 

seen in the country as a result of Hurricane Katrina’’; 

Whereas Hurricane Katrina demonstrates the connection between the health and safety of communities and the 

health of natural resources; 

Whereas many of the hardest hit areas in New Orleans and 

the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina were low-income 

and minority communities already facing decades of environmental injustices; 

Whereas at least 9 major oil spills, and scores of smaller oil 

and hazardous substance spills, leaks, and other releases 

have occurred; 

Whereas 60 underground storage tanks, hazardous waste 

storage facilities, and industrial facilities, and 5 Superfund sites in New Orleans were hit by Hurricane 

Katrina, yet monitoring reported to date has only been 

conducted at a handful of sites for a limited number of 

contaminants; 

Whereas nearly 1,000 drinking-water systems were disabled 

or impaired because of power outages or structural damage, many people have been told to boil their water, and 
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•HRES 477 IH 

safe drinking water may not be available for the entire 

population for years to come; 

Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency’s initial water 

quality tests found that flood water in New Orleans contains 10 times more E. Coli bacteria than the Agency 

considers safe for human contact and lead concentrations 

that exceed drinking water standards, and the mix of 

contaminants poses a serious disease risk to those wading 

through the filthy water; 

Whereas proper implementation and enforcement of Federal 

public health and environmental regulations are necessary 

to protect human health, especially among vulnerable 

populations, and are necessary in times of emergency to 

ensure that the response to a disaster does not exacerbate the initial impact; 

Whereas major industrial facilities and toxic waste sites disproportionately impact low-income individuals, minorities, 

children, the elderly, and all underserved communities; 

Whereas more than one in four Americans, including 10 million children, live within four miles of a Superfund site, 

which poses serious public health issues when sites are 

not cleaned up adequately and in a timely manner; 

Whereas the health of low-income and minority communities 

continues to suffer, largely because of the cumulative impact of all sources of pollution on public health in the 

acute impact area and the failure to consider cumulative 

impacts upon siting of new industrial facilities and cleanup of existing toxic communities; 

Whereas the addition of poor environmental protection and 

enforcement to existing health vulnerabilities has only exacerbated the conditions in these communities, which 
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•HRES 477 IH 

often suffer from higher rates of illness and death in 

comparison with middle-class, suburban, and more affluent communities; 

Whereas Federal public health and environmental statutes 

provide many opportunities to address environmental 

risks and hazards in minority- and low-income communities if applied and implemented; 

Whereas Executive Order 12898 states that each Federal 

agency shall make achieving environmental justice part of 

its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, 

disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations; 

Whereas in 2005, the Congress passed and President Bush 

signed into law (Pub. L. 109–54) language prohibiting 

the Environmental Protection Agency from using appropriated funds to work in contravention of Executive 

Order 12898 and further delay the implementation of 

this Order, which is critical to achieving environmental 

and health equity across all community lines; 

Whereas environmental cleanup of affected areas must be 

done in an effective and timely manner to ensure the victims of Hurricane Katrina can return to their homes 

without enduring preventable environmental or health 

risks; and 

Whereas weakening, waiving, and rolling back Federal public 

health and environmental protections would further 

threaten the heavily damaged area of the Gulf Coast, 

negatively impact the public health of the already mostaffected communities, and put public health and the envi-
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•HRES 477 IH 

ronment at greater future risk at the expense of all communities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the crisis of Hurricane Katrina and other 

4 such disasters should not be used to weaken, waive, 

5 or roll back Federal public health, environmental, 

6 and environmental justice laws and regulations; 

7 (2) State, local, and regional authorities must 

8 retain their authority for compliance and permitting 

9 of industrial and other facilities, and their role in 

10 enforcing and implementing monitoring and cleanup 

11 regulations; 

12 (3) testing, monitoring, cleanup, and recovery 

13 in the region hit by Hurricane Katrina and other 

14 areas of national emergency— 

15 (A) should be completed in a manner de16 signed to protect public health and the environ17 ment, ensure habitability of the region, and 

18 mitigate against the effects of future storms; 

19 and 

20 (B) should be carried out in compliance 

21 with Executive Order 12,898; and 

22 (4) the Federal rebuilding of communities and 

23 the economy of the Gulf Region should be a model 
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1 of the integrated, diverse, and sustainable society 

2 that all Americans desire and deserve. 

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