Executive Order 13650 Public Listening Session, Houston, TX

Date: January 23, 2014 (Evening Session)

Location: Hartman Community Center, 9311 E Avenue P, Houston, TX 77012

Introduction and Opening Remarks

Patrick White, Moderator, introduced the proceedings:

• Welcomed everyone to the listening session and introduced the panel.

• Mentioned future listening sessions and Webinars.

• Written comments can be provided to eo.chemical@hq.dhs.gov. These comments will be 

included in the docket.

• Announcements:

o Please put phones on vibrate.

o Session is being recorded for note-taking purposes.

o The facility’s emergency exit information and restroom locations were provided.

• Purpose: Provide stakeholders an overview of the Executive Order 13650: Improving Chemical 

Facility Safety and Security (EO) progress to date and provide an opportunity for the public to 

provide comments, feedback, and suggestions.

Scott Breor, Deputy Director, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, Office of Infrastructure 

Protection, Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

• We are here to listen to you. We held listening sessions in Orlando, FL; Springfield, IL; and Los 

Angeles, CA and two sessions in the National Capitol Region. We are planning sessions in New 

York/New Jersey and Baton Rouge, LA. 

• Chemical safety and security is a complex subject area. We have heard from more than 1,200 

people who have participated.

• I am retired from the military. I have had the philosophy of “limited vision, bad decision.” We 

know that we don’t know everything.

• DHS has a security focus, but that is different from other agencies. That is different from the 

focus of the DHS U.S. Coast Guard, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 

and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There are different ways to approach this, and 

there are varied perspectives.

• We appreciate your taking the time to speak with us today, and we value your comments.

Lisa Long, Director, Office of Engineering Safety, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor:

• Welcome on behalf of the Department of Labor.

• At OSHA, we are primarily concerned with process safety. 

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• You will hear later about an options document that we have prepared.

Monica Smith, EPA:

• On behalf of EPA and Region VI, we welcome you and thank you for coming tonight.

• I see many faces that I saw in the Texas City session. I am glad to see such a strong interest in 

chemical facility safety. We look forward to your comments.

Lisa Long provided a brief summary of the options document, “Executive Order 13650, Section A –

Solicitation of Public Input on Options for Policy Regulation and Standards Modernization,” located at: 

https://www.osha.gov/chemicalexecutiveorder/Section_6ai_Options_List.html.

Richard Moore, Director, Los Jardines Institute, provided the following comments:

• I wanted to keep my comments brief today, as we will also be joining the listening session 

tomorrow.

• I want to congratulate those brothers and sisters of the environmental justice community here 

today. You are an exceptional group of people who have been fighting these issues for years. 

• I come from a community in New Mexico that is similar to the community of Manchester in that 

our community is also surrounded by chemical facilities. We appreciate the work you are all 

doing. Thank you for allowing us to use your community center to hold this meeting here today.

• All of us in this room are aware of the kind of issues we have been dealing with for many years. 

In Albuquerque, we are surrounded by facilities, such as chemical facilities and the sewage 

treatment facility.

• We have a long history of working with workers inside the facilities, as well as those who live in 

the communities. This effort is just as important to both sides.

• DHS is referred to as “the Department of Homeland Insecurity.” I say that with all respect; it 

would be great if you could spend less time taking pictures of us while we are taking pictures of 

facilities during incidents and if you could just do your job. We want to be able to call you “the 

Department of Homeland Security.” You have more to prove to us than we have to prove to 

you. We have seen no action in our neighborhood. It is just as much about securing the 

facilities as it is about the health and safety of those surrounding the facilities. 

• We can go on and on with examples of incidents throughout the country. Even though the EO 

specifically describes West, Texas, this region contains many of the largest and most dangerous 

facilities in the country.

• You have a responsibility to live up to your mission statement. 

• We are in the process of drafting an entire list of recommendations. At the end of the day, we 

hope that this is not a waste of time.

• We’ve provided feedback, letters, and input in the past, but we have not seen justice. We are 

not asking for justice. We demand justice.

• We have lived this all of our lives.

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• At the end of the day, you all do not have a history of working together. OSHA has not worked 

with DHS. DHS has not worked with EPA, and so on. You all need to communicate with each 

other and to the communities you serve.

• Again, you have more to prove to us than we have to prove to you.

• If there were an accident at a facility in this community tonight, you too would be forced to live 

the same existence we are forced to live every day.

• Scott Breor provided a clarifying comment: Under the Executive Order, we are being held to a 

very tight timeline. If you have recommendations to submit, we ask that you submit them as 

soon as possible to assist us with our May deliverable timeline.

Shelley Espinoza, Hunting Titan, provided the following comments:

• We are a global manufacturer and distributor of oil field equipment, including explosive devices. 

• Our plant is 30 miles from West, Texas. We lost one employee and the son of another.

• We hold the security and safety of our products as a corporate imperative. 

• We are highly regulated by DHS, the Department of Transportation, EPA, and OSHA.

• We have never had a worker fatality, and we are known to partner with our local responders.

• We are a member of Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME). We endorse the recommendations 

they have made to the committee.

• OSHA’s Explosives and Blasting Agents standard is antiquated. In 2002, IME petitioned OSHA to 

update the explosives provisions of this standard. In 2007, OSHA published a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), but in 2010 it was withdrawn, stating that the Process Safety 

Management (PSM) standard and the General Duty Clause authorities were adequate for 

addressing concerns of explosives in the workplace. We disagree with that assertion.

• If the Explosives and Blasting Agents standard is to remain relevant, it needs to be updated. If an 

update is not feasible, then the standard needs to be eliminated in favor of the PSM program.

• We support direct information sharing and coordination with State, local, and tribal emergency 

response committees. However, we cannot support providing security sensitive information to 

these entities. 

• The vision of the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) has never been realized. EPA’s 

own assessment shows a patchwork of largely dysfunctional LEPCs, especially in communities 

relying upon volunteer fire response. It would be irresponsible to entrust security sensitive 

information to these commissions.

• Our company, and others in the same industry, is required to vet employees. We are committed 

to protecting our products. We ask the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 

(ATF) and DHS to embrace the personnel vetting process adopted by the White House in 2010:

Enroll once and use many.

• Hunting Titan supports Government action to give ATF the authority to re-vet names against the 

Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) as circumstances warrant. Right now, it can only be done 

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when there is a change in employment or when a name is resubmitted by a company. We 

believe giving ATF the opportunity to conduct random checks will significantly enhance security.

Johnathan Quavas, private citizen, provided the following comments:

• Since graduating from college, I have had plenty of employment opportunities, especially from 

companies that are keeping up with the safety of their neighborhood. That is the emphasis of 

our meeting here today.

• When it comes to the safety of our community, we need people to get messages out.

• These companies do not really care about the next picture they will see. They want to have 

workers, and that is it.

• In a successful business, it is important to ensure that there are safe practices in use. When 

companies have accidents, it is clear that they are unaware of what is going in inside their 

facilities.

• Companies need to recognize that their neighbors come first.

Juan Paras, Executive Director, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS), provided the 

following comments:

• You have been given a very important mission to go out and hear from these communities. I ask 

that you pay particular attention to the environmental justice communities.

• You should take a ride around this community. You will find that it is surrounded by industry. 

• If the fertilizer facility here were to have an incident, it would have an impact on an area of 25 

miles, even greater than the West, Texas incident.

• We are seeing a great deal of port expansion. Industry is buying more land, which is bringing 

industry closer to these communities.

• We would like for you to consider that there needs to be a mechanism to deal with relocation 

needs. If communities have nowhere to go, they need to be relocated. 

• This community is constantly exposed to eight cancer-causing chemicals. No other community 

we know has exposure to this many cancer-causing chemicals on a daily basis. 

• There are several schools in this community.

• We have been talking about these issues for a very long time. These issues are nothing new to 

any of the agencies represented here today.

• We see efforts to provide security for these facilities, but we don’t see security being provided 

for our community.

• We have been detained while taking pictures of the facilities in our community. We are told it is 

in the interest of homeland security, but it is not. We are simply trying to understand what is 

happening at the facility.

• I want to thank you all for coming here today. 

Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator, EPA, arrived and addressed the meeting attendants:

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• I am here to listen, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Hillary Corgey, private citizen, Austin, Texas, provided the following comments:

• I may have misheard, but I thought she [referring to Espinoza] said that chemicals should not be 

disclosed to LEPCs. I may have heard that wrong, but I see that as a huge issue. If chemicals are

too dangerous to disclose to emergency managers, then they are too dangerous to have in the 

community. 

• I have a Master’s degree in Political Science with a focus in Security.

• I am from Aldine. When growing up in that area, I had asthma and other breathing problems. 

Many of us are prone to cancer, asthma, and similar issues.

• Near Aldine, there was a superfund site. They dumped waste oil on the property. It is unclear 

whether this chemical got into our water. The test is $400. My grandfather cannot afford that 

with his Social Security check.

• When you look across the street, there is a Valero refinery belching out chemicals all day every 

day, while children play in the foreground.

• We need reform. There are 60,000 chemicals that are grandfathered in. That needs to be fixed. 

• We need funding for LEPCs. We recommend a per-container fee on hazardous shipments and a 

nominal fee on EPA Tier II reports. I will address this in greater detail when I address the panel 

tomorrow.

• To those here today: thank you for coming. And thanks to those at DHS, EPA, and OSHA for 

being here.

• Scott Breor provided a clarifying comment: Providing information to the LEPCs is something 

directly mentioned in the EO, and we are looking at it. We are taking it seriously.

Michelle Roberts, Co-coordinator of Environmental Justice and Health Alliance, provided the following 

comments:

• Thank you for holding this listening session here in the Manchester community. Also, thank you 

to the Manchester community for hosting us here this evening.

• Mr. Breor, I heard your earlier comments requesting that our feedback be sent to you as soon as 

possible, but please understand that we have been dealing with explosions and several other 

incidents since Christmas.

• We need real-time, real-engagement with residents and workers who have been affected by

incidents at these facilities.

• The concept of shelter-in-place is very disturbing. 

• We need better coordination of State agencies. DHS operates as if it is not part of the Federal 

family.

• All of the agencies represented here today need to work together.

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• I have served as a first responder. Do you know what it’s like to respond to a chlorine gas leak? 

We need better training for first responders.

• How can you place 27 schools within the danger zone of a chemical facility, forcing them to 

shelter-in-place in the event of an incident?

• I have had sinus issues and headaches and know what it is like to live in communities like 

Manchester.

Liana Lopez, Texas Environmental Justice and Advocacy Service (TEJAS), provided the following 

comments:

• I started studying environmental issues after the BP oil disaster. I then learned more about the 

Keystone XL Pipeline and the tar sands process. That process is now being brought here to 

Houston.

• As I’ve covered more issues, I’m amazed, shocked, and horrified by the stories I’ve uncovered.

• I’ve studied the sinkhole in Louisiana. The chemicals released from that sinkhole have forced 

evacuations, and in some cases residents have been unable to return for more than a year. 

• There have been train derailments and explosions. Carrying tar sands through various 

transportation methods is risky, as a release would not be able to be cleaned up.

• There are harmful chemicals that go through lengthy legal processes to be banned, but these 

companies then make a minor change in the chemical; then the process has to repeat itself.

• I recently learned that Cesar Chavez High School was allowed to be built in the kill zone of a local 

facility here. If something happens, these children have no chance of survival at that school.

• The residents here are often awakened by explosions, alarms, and other unknown incidents. No 

one explains what is happening.

• In West Virginia, a recent incident has made it so residents cannot bathe in their own water. 

They are now being told that there is a second chemical in the water. This was after people 

were told that the water is safe to drink.

• The company involved in the West Virginia incident has already declared bankruptcy. Where is 

the accountability?

Judith Nathim, Private Citizen, provided the following comments:

• We have booms here every day. I don’t know if someone let the industry know that you were 

going to be here because there have been no booms here tonight. If you stay long enough, you 

will hear and feel them. 

• I do not know what process they have for letting the community know what is happening. Our 

foundations and walls are cracking.

• These refineries and industries are not letting us know the processes they are using to store and 

use these chemicals.

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• A few months ago, there was a leak in an 18-wheeler that was carrying phosphoric acid. They 

claimed that they had an evacuation, but no one in the community was aware.

• I called some of the refineries to find out about the booms and to find out if there have been 

any leaks. I called late one night, and a worker that told me that there was a leak in a pipeline 

just down the street that had been going on for two weeks and that they were not able to fix it. 

No one is letting us know what is happening.

• There are not many people here tonight because people are not being educated on what is 

happening and how to be involved. 

• Schools are not being told when there is a leak. 

• I remember training in school for shelter-in-place and taking shelter under our desks. We have 

since learned that those drills would not have saved us, so they are no longer doing that 

training.

• On 9/11, the teachers in New York were told to send their children home. I was living here and 

learned later that Houston and our local communities were targets. If they had been sent home 

here, they would have returned to a more dangerous environment.

• My recommendations would be to have an emergency line to notify communities when there is 

a leak, explosion, or emergency. We have a right to know.

• Regarding planning and community involvement, there should be better education with 

communities and local organizations to conduct educational workshops.

• Please take a close look at Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)and see how we can use that to 

better regulate those industries that fail to account for the members of their communities. 

• It is sad that communities like Manchester are the first to know about emergencies but the last 

to know about these listening sessions.

• Mr. Stanislaus asked a clarifying question: Is the community not getting notification, or are there 

little-to-no notifications?

o Ms. Nathim responded: There is little-to-no notification. We do not get notified. There is an 

alarm every day that they say is a test. However, when there is a leak, that alarm does not 

sound. We know about the booms, but the facilities here cannot say if it is from them.

Delmar Bennet, Environmental Action Now, provided the following comments:

• We had an issue last week with a plant explosion. We have whistles that blow 12 o’clock every 

Tuesday to warn us of a practice drill. They said there was word of an explosion at Exxon, but I 

never received word. Maybe it was on TV, but I don’t have a TV in my car.

• Regardless of what happens, it is about money. Fossil fuels are causing the problems. Because 

fossil fuels benefit our life, the people who produce it are not causing the problem; we are 

because we use it. 

• I have been experiencing headaches since I have been here. I do not normally get headaches, 

but when I have been here, I have had them.

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• Being from Moorsville, I could not imagine what I saw here. They say it is just steam, but 

something has to be mixed with that steam. On a cloudy, rainy day like today, this community 

gets the bulk of what is coming out of those stacks because the air cannot take it anywhere 

else.

• Last year, Exxon had a leaking pipe. They put a band-aid on it. The following year, they had an 

explosion at the same pipeline. Why? They know these pipes have been here 30 to 40 years, 

and nothing lasts forever.

• Why aren’t there any toxic allergies in areas where there are factories? Why can’t people 

determine what kinds of toxic substances are in these people? We do not have anyone who can 

tell us what is in our bodies.

• You can bring it to the President; I know it is not easy to just tell people to stop this or that. We 

can lose a few lives, but we cannot lose a bunch of money. [said with sarcasm]

• DHS, I did not mind you holding me up in the car for 2 hours when I was taking pictures of the 

plant near my house. It made me feel important.

Adrian Shelley, Executive Director, Air Alliance Houston, provided the following comments:

• The bulk of my recommendations will be coming tomorrow. 

• I want to thank the citizens of Manchester for hosting us here tonight.

• We are hearing a lot of the emotion and frustration coming across the table. I know the 

significance of that is not lost on you.

• If you have experienced headaches like us, or have been stuck behind a train like us, I know that 

has not been lost on you.

• I want to provide some comments regarding a question Mr. Stanislaus asked about notifications. 

There are certain notification schemes in place with varied degrees of efficacy. There is a 

shelter-in-place alarm that is met with people coming outside and going into the streets because 

people want to see the incident for themselves. 

• There are reverse 911 systems in some communities. In many cases, they only apply to 

landlines, and they are often underutilized. If there are options for mobile phone users to optin, they are likely unaware of it.

• There is an industry-sponsored phone service here called Careline. Careline is a useless service. 

It is an answering machine message that, regardless of the reality, says every day that there are 

no incidents in your community. 

• It was first announced that Careline would be online on December 3, but that launch was 

delayed.

• I know that this is one of the sessions that has been added in response to the feedback that you

have received so far. This listening session is one of them. I am grateful to you for holding this 

meeting here today.

• Unfortunately, there are communities that cannot be made safe. These are older communities 

that pre-date the chemical industry. 

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• Many of the recommendations you are hearing indicate that the focus needs to be on the power 

and legislative authority that you already have. You do not have the resource to fund the LEPCs. 

The funding is not in communities like Manchester,, but rather in the communities around 

places like Manchester. For example, communities towards the Port area have more resources 

and benefit from Manchester’s sacrifices.

• Mr. Stanislaus asked a clarifying question: What is the opportunity for welcoming residents to 

participate in local emergency planning efforts?

o Mr. Shelley responded: That is a good question. Perhaps others could also comment on 

this. In many cases, the LEPCs are underfunded or even defunct. I doubt that there are 

many people here who have had engagement with their LEPCs.

Maria Salva, private citizen, provided the following comments:

• When I was in elementary school, I remember learning that I had the freedom to swing my 

arms, but that my freedom ended at the other guy’s nose. Industry continuously punches us in 

the nose. We expect Government agencies, like the EPA, to provide us with protection. Instead, 

we have the Governor of Texas slowing down the EPA from enforcing existing rules. We want 

Government rules and regulations because we are being trampled upon.

• I have been in this community talking to people who have friends or family members who have 

died or are dying. I have never been around so many people who know of so many who are 

dying or have died.

• I know other people who have shared other problems, like having a film that is eating the paint 

off their car.

• Without Federal enforcement of these existing regulations, this is the kind of exposure we are 

experiencing.

• We are literally sick and tired of what we are being exposed to. We are not being heard. 

• I am a member of two groups: No Keystone XL and Voices Against Tar Sands. What I hear on the 

news are blatant lies and corporate propaganda that gets broadcast as news.

• I would ask that you not take industry propaganda as fact. Do your own research. Verify the 

claims, and seek an opposing viewpoint if industry presents you with something.

• The last thing I want to say is that in Houston, freezing weather is rare. The weather tonight and 

tomorrow is going to be dangerous. This will affect the turnout of these sessions.

Hyman Leon, private citizen, provided the following comments:

• I am a regular guy, living a regular life. I thought I was living in a regular community.

• I grew up in California. I moved because I hated the earthquakes, but now I have frequent 

earthquakes here in my backyard. 

• I am very disappointed with living in Manchester. Every day, my car is covered in metal dust.

• I have had a pancreas and kidney transplant. 

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• We are breathing all this metal dust, so we are all going to get cancer. We are just regular 

people. We are not high tax payers, so who cares if we get cancer? 

• The alarms never turn on when they are supposed to. They test the alarms to pass the 

inspections, and that is all.

• It is too late to look for a safety drill. We shouldn’t be living in this area.

• With my poor health, I do what I can to get by. I cannot sell my home because of the pollution 

and booms.

• The headlines today mention a person who was killed in Texas by lethal injection, but we are all 

being poisoned to death here each day.

• Some people in this neighborhood are old or poor and cannot afford to live elsewhere.

• The residents here need to be bought out so they can move and live somewhere else.

• When my wife goes to Mexico for 15 days, she feels fine. When she comes back, she is sick 

again with breathing problems.

• Even the local cable company does not care about us. I tried to order cable the other day and 

was told that service was not available in my area.

Nieves Hernandez, private citizen, provided the following comments through the assistance of a 

translator:

• I have a question for you. What is it that you are here to do?

• The metal crushing facility has only been here for 3 years, and during this time they have ended 

my life. Since they opened 3 years ago, I have not been able to breathe right. 

• I have been asking for help from the police, the fire department, and the city. No one has been 

able to help him. 

• A year ago, there was a fire at the facility. I called for emergency response, but they could not 

go inside the facility. Instead of going to where they could see the fire, they went to his house 

and said they could not go inside because the facility had not asked for help. Do we need to wait 

for the whole community to be up in flames?

• Every night there are more than two explosions coming from that facility. 

• I am not able to work the way that I use to because I cannot breath anymore.

• I am not able to work efficiently because of my poor health, and I therefore need to pay workers 

to do the work that I used to do myself.

• My house was remodeled 2 years ago, but now the foundation is cracked. It is sinking, and the 

walls are cracking; the sheetrock is cracking. Could you live in a house in that condition?

• The Government sees us as less than rats because we are forced to live in these conditions, and 

nothing is being done about it.

• Facilities in this industry are continuing to grow, and they are pushing us out like cockroaches.

• The petrochemical industry, along with other industries, is intentionally trying to push us out so 

they can cheaply buy the houses. What they do is wait for people to get frustrated or stop 

paying their taxes so they can collect their homes.

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Dana Moline, private citizen, provided the following comments:

• I have been living here 52 years. Are we going to have meetings over and over again until 

something explodes? Something needs to be done.

John Sullivan, private citizen, provided the following comments:

• I am from Galveston. I would like to thank the people of Manchester for hosting this meeting 

tonight. 

• As I was growing up, periodically things exploded. Back then, there was no EPA. Now we do

have the EPA, but 50 years later, we are still having many of the same issues. 

• Manchester, Port Arthur, and others are examples of these communities. This really needs to 

be addressed.

• I was doing a project in Pasadena a few years ago. A gentleman spoke about a warehouse fire in 

Harris County. It was a chemical warehouse. A plume passed over the neighborhood. The fire 

department circled and started suppressing fires outside but would not go inside because they 

were not informed about what was inside.

• If you are going to do something, it needs to be with teeth. We like the EPA. We like 

enforcement. Please make sure that there are fines and that they are collected. Provide an 

incentive for equipment to be updated.

• Right now, you are sitting in the midst of disproportionate exposure, and this community gets it 

every day.

Christine Vinnick, Mossville resident, provided the following comments:

• We are about to be bought out, but they want our land for nothing.

• Georgia Gulf had a valve leak. It was in one of their places that EPA had written up. They said it 

was too much money to replace the valve. It leaked for 5 years. Our lives weren’t important 

enough.

• For 35 years, we have been in the fight, surrounded by 15 industries; we sit in the middle.

• The mayor said they could not thank the plant enough for bringing the money into our 

communities, not thinking about one of our friends who died from a house fire because there 

was not a fire hydrant near us. 

• It is about the jobs and the money; it is not about our lives.

• I found a toxicologist in Chicago, IL. He was about to perform some tests but stopped. I believe 

that someone from industry stopped him.

• I have lost my mother, father, and brothers; yet, they want to offer us the opportunity to go into 

debt to move away.

Bryan Paras, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS), provided the following comments:

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• I worked in the area but was replaced by robots.

• There is another Executive Order already in place. That’s the Environmental Justice Executive 

Order. We are celebrating it being on the books for 20 years. The previous one has not done 

much to improve the situation, so why should we put hope and effort into this one?

• We do not have the luxury of moving out.

• We already have an Executive Order that should be helping us out. Relocation is the last resort. 

The community was there first. 

• It is not appropriate to ask folks to be bought out. It is a sign that you have failed at your jobs. 

We need to recognize that. Do your job.

• I have been approached by Homeland Security because I was taking photos for the City of 

Houston to document issues with flaring at facilities. I have been approached and 

photographed. Some of our people have even been followed. HPD, Valero security, and DHS 

have all followed individuals to their homes to document those with whom they are speaking.

• If DHS were as good at protecting individuals from chemical as they are at deporting immigrants, 

maybe we would see a different situation. Maybe we need to focus on how to do your job

correctly.

Sophie Grapf, private citizen, provided the following comments:

• I would like to put up my own monitoring stations. I am not trying to blow up a plant. I am 

trying to document the link between flares and the times when other monitors are suspiciously 

not working.

• I am trying to teach our residents how to measure particulates using nothing more than coffee 

cans and coffee filters.

• Having the fines cost more than cleaning up the spill. Hit them where it hurts in the accounting

department. No one includes the cost of cleaning up when they determine the profits. 

Jackie Young, Environmental Geologist, Texans Together, provided the following comments:

• I have been able to relate to everyone who has spoken here today.

• In college, I studied our water, and we were able to figure out that it was making us sick. Then it 

became a question of what to do about it. 

• We were made to feel like the enemies. 

• Residents were sent letters telling them to drink the water despite the dioxin findings.

• Doctors do not understand people like me. I have been told that I am toxic soup. I literally hired 

a doctor from outside the country because local doctors do not know how to treat me.

• It is no surprise why we have one of the largest and best medical centers here in Houston. 

• This Executive order is crucial to the safety of those living next door to these facilities.

• The definition of terrorism is living in fear. We’re living in fear here.

Michele Roberts, Environmental Justice and Health Alliance provided the following comments:

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• As I told you earlier, I work with a lot of communities throughout the United States. I have 

found that in many communities, the LEPCs are totally disconnected from the communities. 

• I have written to the Mossville LEPC and have not heard back from them.

• We need better inspections of these facilities. 

• When you are granting permits for the next person to operate these facilities, there needs to be 

a full-blown investigation to ensure that the plant is suitable for operation.

• There should be a mandate for LEPC coordination with their communities.

Richard Moore, private citizen, provided the following comments:

• In my community, we were drinking contaminated water for more than 25 years. We were not 

informed that we were drinking contaminated water. 

• For years we have been demanding justice.

• The people of Manchester have done an incredible job here. They must continue that struggle 

until we can build strong community-based organizations.

• Regarding the West Virginia residents who recently were told not to drink and bathe in the 

water: were they told after the contaminants were already in the water? How long had the 

contaminants been there before they were told?

• If we are expected to believe that you are going to do the right thing and if you all are working 

together, then why would we have to question it? I am a believer. We started working on these 

issues in 1966. EPA was founded in 1970. If you were communicating with each other, you’d be 

aware that 20 years ago on February 11 the Executive Order for Environmental Justice was 

signed.

• One of the recommendations stated in EJAC (Environmental Justice Advisory Committee) is that 

when you are dealing with a predominantly Spanish-speaking community, you should bring a 

translator.

• At the end of the day, it is the simple stuff that matters. It is about understanding the 

communities that you are supposed to be representing. If we’re to believe that you are going to 

move forward with our recommendations, the proof will be in the pudding. 

• I would encourage you to read the public participation document produced by the EJAC in 

response to the Executive Order for Environmental Justice. 

• On behalf of my family, the organization I represent, and the members of our community, we 

thank you for being here today.

Closing comments were provided by Mathy Stanislaus:

• I thank you all for coming today. I want you to know that we take these issues very seriously. 

• My plan is to have a plan for the President that is actionable.

• I thank you all. My commitment is to continue to engage you all.

EO 13650 Public Listening Session Page 13

January 23, 2014

Houston, TX (Evening Session)
Participant Analysis 

Stakeholder Group

1/23/2014 

Houston, TX

Chemical Producer 2

Ag Supply 0

Chemical Storage 0

State/Local Regulator 0

First Responder 0

Media 3

Owner/Operator 0

Industry Association 1

Labor Organization 0

Federal Representative 4

Environment/Community 28

Consensus Organization 0

Other: 0

Citizen 18

Education 1

Security 0

Vendor 0

State/Local 0

Tribal 0

Health/Research 0

TOTAL

(Attended In-Person) 57

Conference Call 31

Attended (InPerson & Conf Call) 88

EO 13650 Public Listening Session Page 14

January 23, 2014

Houston, TX (Evening Session)
Executive Order 13650

Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security

January 23, 2014 Listening Session 

Hosted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 

and the Department of Labor (DoL)

Location: Hartman Community Center, 9311 E Avenue P, Houston, TX 77012

Agenda 

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Registration

6:00 p.m. – 6:20 p.m. Welcome, Introductions, and Overview

Patrick White, Facilitator

Mathy Stanislaus, EPA, Executive Order 13650 Working Group Co-Chair

Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

Jordan Barab, OSHA, Executive Order 13650 Working Group Co-Chair

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor

Scott Breor, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/ Office of Infrastructure 

Protection

Valentina Close, Department of Justice/ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,

Firearms and Explosives 

 

Overview Section 6 a

Lisa Long, OSHA

6:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Listening Session Format

Patrick White, Facilitator

6:30 p.m. – 7:50 p.m. Comments from Listening Session Participants

7:50 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Closing Remarks 

 

 Mathy Stanislaus, EPA, Executive Order 13650 Working Group Co-Chair

Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

8:00 p.m. Adjournment 

Persons may also submit written comments to NPPD/ISCD/Mailstop 0610, Department of Homeland 

Security, 245 Murray Lane, SW, Arlington, VA 20598-0610. Comments will also be accepted by email 

at: EO.Chemical@hq.dhs.gov or through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

at http://www.regulations.gov. For more information on EO 13650, please 

visit https://www.osha.gov/chemicalexecutiveorder/index.html

and https://www.dhs.gov/topic/chemical-security.