WASHINGTON, DCAn environmental health study for Anniston was among the demands of two senators during a congressional subcommittee hearing Friday.
The senators also questioned a regional Environmental Protection Agency officer about who masterminded EPA's controversial agreement with Solutia and Pharmacia to address the widespread PCB pollution in the Anniston area.
Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, and Barbara Mikulski, D-Baltimore, are members of the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies, which has oversight over EPA.
Shelby, who requested the subcommittee hearing two months ago, said he wants the Centers for Disease Control to supervise a comprehensive health assessment in Anniston.
Shelby read a prepared statement in which he described fish "boiling in Snow Creek" in the 1960s, and he ticked through a series of opportunities lost to fix the PCB problem in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
"We know where (you) have been - absent," Shelby said.
Mikulski, the chair of the subcommittee, expressed consternation upon hearing that EPA's chief environmental officer for the Southeast is unable to make decisions about the Anniston PCB site because of a potential conflict of interest.
Mikulski said she found that information "troubling" and she noted that it was "uncharacteristic" for the EPA administrator to appoint officers with a major conflict of interest.
"This is one of the biggest environmental cases, and the regional administrator can't do anything," she said.
Anniston activists, plaintiff attorneys and environmental groups have accused EPA and the Department of Justice of bailing out Solutia, a spinoff of Monsanto, under pressure by the Bush Administration.
They accuse federal officials of "letting the fox in the hen house" by allowing the Solutia to do the comprehensive investigation and health-risk evaluation for PCBs in the Anniston area.
EPA and Justice Department officials have denied allegations of political intrigue, and instead describe the Superfund-style agreement as the best way to investigate the extensive land, air and waterway contamination.
The agreement is in the public comment phase.
In the first hour of the hearing, the two senators chastised the Alabama and federal environmental agencies, saying the agencies had failed for for decades to do their duty to protect residents from pollution from Monsanto's former PCB manufacturing plant in western Anniston.
Shelby asked Stanley Meiburg, EPA's deputy regional administrator for the Southeast, how he will attempt to regain the trust of residents who believe EPA is not ever going to fix the PCB problem.
Meiburg responded, "Trust is something that takes a long time to build."
"By deed, not by word, huh?" Shelby interjected.
Mikulski echoed Shelby's concern. She asked why two high-ranking EPA officials recently removed themselves from Anniston PCB cleanup decisions. One of those officials is Jimmy Palmer, the top environmental officer for EPA's Southeastern division. The other is Linda Fischer, EPA's deputy administrator in Washington.
After repeated questioning from Mikulski about who was responsible for masterminding EPA's deal with Solutia, Meiburg explained that the true "architects" of the deal were EPA's Atlanta-based technical staff as well as EPA and Department of Justice attorneys.
Meiburg explained that his boss, Palmer, had a legal conflict regarding Anniston pollution. As a private attorney, Palmer previously represented several foundries in Anniston. Meiburg also testified that Fischer recused herself because she was a former Monsanto employee.
Questioned further, Meiburg said he was not aware of Fischer or Palmer having any role or "discussions" with the EPA negotiators about the PCB cleanup. Because of Palmer's potential conflict of interest, Meiburg is primarily responsible for reviewing PCB cleanup decisions, he said.
During the two-hour hearing, the subcommittee also delved into other PCB worries voiced by state officials and environmental activists.
A national health officer, Henry Falk of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, said he would be working with other health agencies to find a way to address PCB-related health concerns.
Anniston activist David Baker and a state engineer also gave testimony about their diverse concerns about the pollution.
Baker said he is extremely displeased with EPA's deal with Solutia because it does not address PCB-related health concerns. In his written testimony, Baker said he believed EPA's original proposal to Solutia included the things that the western Anniston residents needed - a medical facility and a comprehensive health assessment.
Baker told the senators EPA made a "180-degree turn" after the initial proposal. Though he praised EPA for helping the community learn about the dangers of PCBs, he said he feels the EPA deal "makes no sense" because of Monsanto's history and "lack of credibility" in western Anniston.
Baker asked the senators to supply what is lacking in the federal deal - funding for a health clinic and health study.
He also said he feels Anniston should be placed on the National Priorities List, a category of Superfund sites classified as the worst in the country. So far, EPA has not designated Anniston on the NPL because it was able to negotiate a investigation/partial cleanup settlement with Solutia and Pharmacia.
A chief engineer from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management testified that he does not feel Superfund is necessary for Anniston, and that the state can supervise a quicker cleanup.
Steve Cobb of ADEM instead criticized EPA for removing ADEM's authority for the waterway, landfills and facility cleanups.
"ADEM is concerned that the nature and timing of these actions sends an inappropriate message to the regulated community - that Superfund "is a safe haven from state regulations and civil proceedings, and the answer to one's legal problems," Cobb said.
He was referring to Solutia's recent motion to dismiss or stay a potential state-court mandate to enact a more stringent cleanup in Anniston. ADEM recently joined 3,500 plaintiffs suing Monsanto/Solutia in state court over PCB contamination in the western Anniston area.
