COMPLETION REPORT

Since September 2005 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) have worked together to address environ mental hazards from Hurri canes Katrina and Rita to help LaFourche Parish recover.

One of EPA and LDEQ's first priorities was to ensure residents returning to all the cities affected by the hurricanes had safe drinking water. Throughout LaFourche Parish, 3 assessments were conducted at drinking water facilities. Similarly, 99 wastewater treatment plants were assessed for damage.

Next, EPA and LDEQ turned to federally-permitted facilities. The agencies conducted interviews and site visits at hazardous waste storage, transfer or disposal facilities through March 2006. During this time 32 facilities in LaFourche Parish were addressed. The site visits and interviews established that employees could return to work at facilities operating in accordance with federal and state regulations.

Because of concerns that damaged chemicals in school biology and chemistry laboratories could cause a health hazard, EPA and LDEQ conducted assessments at schools in southern Louisiana. Some chemical containers were found to be damaged by the hurricanes, by flood waters and/or from heat exposure. EPA and LDEQ, in coordination with the Louisiana State Police and local fire departments, removed dangerous chemicals from schools in southern Louisiana. Thirty-four schools in LaFourche Parish were assessed; chemicals were removed from six of them.

Paint, computers, washing machines, and refrigerators in homes under normal circumstances are not usually considered hazardous. However, when hundreds of thousands of these items become waste products at the same time, the hazardous components in them could create problems. To help remove these materials from the waste going to Louisiana's municipal landfills, EPA and LDEQ collected 38,716 units consisting of appliances, hazardous waste containers, and home electronics. The hazardous materials were recycled or disposed in landfills designed to handle them safely. In LaFourche Parish, EPA and LDEQ disposed of 160,665 pounds of waste.