TAMUNING, GUAM – In response to Typhoon Mawar, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mission assignments to support the restoration of water infrastructure, including both safe drinking water and wastewater systems, and the collection and proper disposal of hazardous waste and oil on Guam.
Completion of these two mission assignments would not have been possible without the efforts of over 100 personnel from EPA, support contractors both on- and off-island, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel that deployed on-island and virtually, as well as the efforts of Guam EPA, Guam Department of Education, Guam Department of Health and Social Services (Guam DPHSS), and Guam Water Works Authority (GWA).
“EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment, and responding to disasters is a critical part of that,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Superfund and Emergency Management Division Director Mike Montgomery. “Close coordination with the Government of Guam, as well as our federal and local partners, resulted in the restoration of safe drinking water, sanitation services and the removal of dangerous waste.”
Recovery efforts required collaboration from all levels of government
EPA’s water infrastructure efforts focused primarily on working with Guam EPA, Guam DPHSS, and GWA to restore safe drinking water, sample and assess water vending machines, and inspect wastewater treatment facilities immediately after the typhoon.
Water sampling efforts
For the hazardous waste and oil mission, EPA's focus was the sorting of materials at the three debris collection sites in Dededo, Barrigada, and Tamuning. This potentially dangerous material secured and removed included paint, petroleum products, pesticides, fluorescent lightbulbs, batteries, and electronics. Two additional important elements of this mission were the assessment and removal of hazardous waste and ewaste from 41 public schools, which was critical to efforts to reopen schools in August, and damage assessments at over 150 facilities permitted to store hazardous materials. Critical support from contractors and the U.S. Coast Guard was a key piece of this mission.
Waste collection site – pictured here are pallets of car batteries in the foreground and white goods/household appliances in the background
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from EPA News Releases https://ift.tt/LMZ9AC6