Abstract |
This review was conducted in conjunction with the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency as part of its examination of relief efforts provided by the Federal Government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Based on our prior reviews of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs) response to Katrina, this report identifies lessons learned from the Katrina response. We also examined whether EPA followed its emergency response protocols, including those lessons learned from the World Trade Center collapse and the Agency's responsibilities as delineated in the National Response Plan, in responding to Katrina. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Mississippi coast. Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Southeastern Louisiana, and caused extensive flooding in New Orleans and extensive damage to the environmental infrastructure in the region. |