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Phillip-Pool/Getty Images</div></div><div class="article-title" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.2"><h1 class="article-headline" itemprop="headline" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.2.0"><span data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.2.0.0">Hurricane Harvey Could Also Be a Major Pollution Disaster</span></h1><h2 class="article-subhead" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.2.1">The powerful storm is headed straight toward the heart of the American petrochemical industry, while a key EPA response position remains unfilled.</h2></div><div class="article-meta" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3"><h3 class="article-byline" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.0"><div class="author-list author-list-all author-list-inline" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.0.0.0">By </span><span class="author-list-item" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.0.0.1:$0"><a class="author-emily-atkin author-link" itemprop="author" title="Emily Atkin" href="/authors/emily-atkin" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.0.0.1:$0.0">Emily Atkin</a><span class="author-list-comma" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.0.0.1:$0.1"></span></span></div></h3><h5 class="article-date" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.1"><time property="dc:date dc:created" itemprop="datePublished" content="2017-08-25" datetime="2017-08-25" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.1.0">August 25, 2017</time></h5><span data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.0.0.3.2"></span></div></div></header><div class="article-body" itemprop="articleBody" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.1"><div class="content-body" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.1.0"><div class="article-text-wrap"><div class="article-text-grid"><p>In the devastating wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, parts of the East Coast were left not only demolished, but polluted. Wastewater treatment plants lost power and discharged <a href="https://www.climatecentral.org/pdfs/Sewage.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">11 billion gallons of sewage</a> into receiving waters. The toxic Gowanus Canal—a Superfund site—flooded and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/nyregion/gowanus-canal-flooding-brings-contamination-concerns.html?mcubz=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">overflowed</a> into people’s homes, covering people and possessions in what one victim called a “greasy, oily slick.” Homeowners’ personal heating oil tanks broke apart and <a href="http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/hurricane-sandy-highlights-an-ongoing-problem-with-fuel-oil-tanks/article_7ff80154-aa99-11e2-8ea5-001a4bcf887a.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">oozed fuel</a> into the soil. </p><aside id="recirc-0" class="recirc-most-popular pull-right pull-small hide"></aside><p>That was Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane. Now, a Category 3 hurricane is heading straight toward Southeast Texas, the heart of the American petrochemical industry. It’s the nightmare situation Roy Scranton warned about in his 2016 op-ed for the <i>New York Times</i>, titled “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/opinion/sunday/when-the-hurricane-hits-texas.html?mcubz=1&amp;_r=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">When the Next Hurricane Hits Texas.</a>” If a storm rips through the region, it will hit an area <span>that includes roughly one third of the country’s known oil and natural gas reserves. And there’s more: “The refineries and plants encircling Galveston Bay are responsible for roughly 25 percent of the United States’s petroleum refining, more than 44 percent of its ethylene production, 40 percent of its specialty chemical feed stock and more than half of its jet fuel.”</span></p><p>A powerful hurricane could disrupt oil and chemical production, Scranton wrote, and in turn domestic and world markets. On Thursday, oil prices were already going haywire as refineries in Corpus Christi <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s63B_hO1lU4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">shut down</a> ahead of Harvey. <span>That’s a real concern, but it’s not the only reason we should be watching the refineries. </span><span>There is a huge environmental risk to this storm. If the “biblical event” predicted materializes in this densely packed industrial area, “</span><span>it may impact the Gulf Coast oil refineries and chemical plants,” said Judith Enck, who served as </span><span>administrator for EPA’s Region 2 during Hurricane Sandy. </span><span>“I am extremely concerned about the path of Hurricane Harvey.”</span></p><p>Oil and chemical companies are concerned too. LyondellBassell, one of the largest chemical and refining companies, <a href="https://twitter.com/jessica_priest/status/900778681269932033" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">said in a statement</a> that it is preparing for “potential flooding” of its many Houston-area sites. Anadarko Petroleum and ExxonMobil have started <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2017/08/24/evacuations-shutdowns-texas-energy-companies-brace-tropical-storm-harvey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">evacuating<span> </span></a><a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2017/08/24/evacuations-shutdowns-texas-energy-companies-brace-tropical-storm-harvey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">workers</a> from the region’s offshore oil drilling platforms, which together spilled a total of <a href="http://www.politifact.com/texas/article/2017/aug/24/checking-hurricane-claims-limbaugh-mccain-chris-ch/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">741,000 gallons of oil </a>during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One analyst told industry publication ICIS that <a href="https://www.icis.com/resources/news/2017/08/24/10136887/more-shutdowns-as-hurricane-harvey-nears-texas-coast/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">five or six refineries</a> could be directly hit by the storm.</p></div></div><div class="full-width inserted-dfp ad-container-0"></div><div class="article-text-wrap"><div class="article-text-grid"><figure class="article-embed recirc-related-link" data-recirc="144338" contenteditable="false"><br></figure><p>Environmental advocates are also worried that Harvey will create long-term public health problems due to accidental toxic substance releases, and not just from refineries and power plants. In the 30 counties where a disaster has been declared, there are <a href="https://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/superfund/sites/county/County" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">dozens of Superfund sites</a>, many of which are essentially waste pits containing harmful chemicals. The San Jacinto River Waste Pits, for example, contain carcinogenic dioxins, which are linked to birth defects. Advocates also rightly point out that communities living closest to all these sites—both the Superfunds and the refineries—are disproportionately low-income and minority. “This is an environmental justice issue,” Enck said. </p><p><span>This type of risk is inherent in any major hurricane, especially one that is slated to hit a major population center. But Enck says it is compounded by the fact that President Trump has not appointed an administrator for EPA’s Region 6, which covers both Southeast Texas and Louisiana. “Career staff will do a good job, but this is a situation where real leadership is needed,” Enck said, recalling her own experience. During Sandy, she said, her position was “round the clock.” As the agency works to solve multiple pollution events at once after a storm, “T</span><span>he regional administrator troubleshoots and is the interface with the state environmental agencies, regional staff, and the EPA in Washington,” Enck said. “FEMA</span><span> is in the lead, but EPA plays a crucial role.”</span></p><p><span>Fortunately, the acting administrator in EPA’s Region 6 office at the moment appears experienced in responding to natural disasters that result in environmental catastrophe. According to the agency’s website, </span><span>Samuel Coleman,</span><span> “guided EPA’s response to Hurricane Katrina as the agency’s senior federal official in New Orleans, leading EPA’s emergency response and recovery missions.” In 2009 Coleman was awarded a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award for his work on Katrina.</span></p><p>This is a stroke of luck for Trump, who has been so preoccupied with the superficial drama of his presidency that he’s <a href="/article/144497/heres-hurricane-harvey-scary-unprecedented">barely mentioned</a> the coming storm at all. <span>Hopefully, the communities in the path of Harvey will all be just as lucky. </span><span>But </span><span>the future impact of Trump’s dismal policy agenda—which so far has </span><a href="/article/144156/were-brink-major-environmental-disaster-ready">increased the risk of environmental disaster</a><span> </span><span>without increasing disaster preparation—gives us something else to worry about. E</span><span>ven if the president can manage on Friday to curb his theatrics and focus on the storm of the decade, it’s unlikely that an environmental disaster will be anywhere near the front of his mind. </span></p></div></div></div></div><footer class="article-footer-wrap" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.2"><div class="article-author-bio" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.2.0:$0"><div class="bio-body" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.2.0:$0.0"><div class="bio-text" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.2.0:$0.0.0"><p>Emily Atkin is a staff writer at <i>The New Republic</i>.</p></div><a href="https://twitter.com/emorwee" target="_blank" class="bio-twitter" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.2.0:$0.0.1"><div class="icon" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.2.0:$0.0.1.0"><div class="svg-wrapper svg-wrapper-icon" data-reactid=".1syir209kts.2.1.0.0.$0.2.0:$0.0.1.0.0"><svg version="1.1" x="0px" y="0px" viewBox="0 0 64 64" class="svg-svg" 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    <script>window.__dataPacket={"childQueries":{"wasServerRendered":true,"article":{"id":"9ee059c4-6df0-4c8a-91b9-d0a7ffa0f90a","title":"Hurricane Harvey Could Also Be a Major Pollution Disaster","cleanTitle":"Hurricane Harvey Could Also Be a Major Pollution Disaster","body":"<p>In the devastating wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, parts of the East Coast were left not only demolished, but polluted. Wastewater treatment plants lost power and discharged <a href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/pdfs/Sewage.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">11 billion gallons of sewage<\/a> into receiving waters. The toxic Gowanus Canal\u2014a Superfund site\u2014flooded and <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/nyregion/gowanus-canal-flooding-brings-contamination-concerns.html?mcubz=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">overflowed<\/a> into people\u2019s homes, covering people and possessions in what one victim called a \u201cgreasy, oily slick.\u201d Homeowners\u2019 personal heating oil tanks broke apart and <a href=\"http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/hurricane-sandy-highlights-an-ongoing-problem-with-fuel-oil-tanks/article_7ff80154-aa99-11e2-8ea5-001a4bcf887a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">oozed fuel<\/a> into the soil. <\/p><p>That was Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane. Now, a Category 3 hurricane is heading straight toward Southeast Texas, the heart of the American petrochemical industry. It\u2019s the nightmare situation Roy Scranton warned about in his 2016 op-ed for the <i>New York Times<\/i>, titled \u201c<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/opinion/sunday/when-the-hurricane-hits-texas.html?mcubz=1&amp;_r=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">When the Next Hurricane Hits Texas.<\/a>\u201d If a storm rips through the region, it will hit an area <span>that includes roughly one third of the country\u2019s known oil and natural gas reserves. And there\u2019s more: \u201cThe refineries and plants encircling Galveston Bay are responsible for roughly 25 percent of the United States\u2019s petroleum refining, more than 44 percent of its ethylene production, 40 percent of its specialty chemical feed stock and more than half of its jet fuel.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p>A powerful hurricane could disrupt oil and chemical production, Scranton wrote, and in turn domestic and world markets. On Thursday, oil prices were already going haywire as refineries in Corpus Christi <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s63B_hO1lU4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">shut down<\/a> ahead of Harvey. <span>That\u2019s a real concern, but it\u2019s not the only reason we should be watching the refineries. <\/span><span>There is a huge environmental risk to this storm. If the \u201cbiblical event\u201d predicted materializes in this densely packed industrial area, \u201c<\/span><span>it may impact the Gulf Coast oil refineries and chemical plants,\u201d said Judith Enck, who served as <\/span><span>administrator for EPA\u2019s Region 2 during Hurricane Sandy. <\/span><span>\u201cI am extremely concerned about the path of Hurricane Harvey.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p>Oil and chemical companies are concerned too. LyondellBassell, one of the largest chemical and refining companies, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jessica_priest/status/900778681269932033\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">said in a statement<\/a> that it is preparing for \u201cpotential flooding\u201d of its many Houston-area sites. Anadarko Petroleum and ExxonMobil have started <a href=\"https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2017/08/24/evacuations-shutdowns-texas-energy-companies-brace-tropical-storm-harvey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">evacuating<span> <\/span><\/a><a href=\"https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2017/08/24/evacuations-shutdowns-texas-energy-companies-brace-tropical-storm-harvey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">workers<\/a> from the region\u2019s offshore oil drilling platforms, which together spilled a total of <a href=\"http://www.politifact.com/texas/article/2017/aug/24/checking-hurricane-claims-limbaugh-mccain-chris-ch/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">741,000 gallons of oil <\/a>during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One analyst told industry publication ICIS that <a href=\"https://www.icis.com/resources/news/2017/08/24/10136887/more-shutdowns-as-hurricane-harvey-nears-texas-coast/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">five or six refineries<\/a> could be directly hit by the storm.<\/p><figure class=\"article-embed recirc-related-link\" data-recirc=\"144338\" contenteditable=\"false\"><br><\/figure><p>Environmental advocates are also worried that Harvey will create long-term public health problems due to accidental toxic substance releases, and not just from refineries and power plants. In the 30 counties where a disaster has been declared, there are <a href=\"https://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/superfund/sites/county/County\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">dozens of Superfund sites<\/a>, many of which are essentially waste pits containing harmful chemicals. The San Jacinto River Waste Pits, for example, contain carcinogenic dioxins, which are linked to birth defects. Advocates also rightly point out that communities living closest to all these sites\u2014both the Superfunds and the refineries\u2014are disproportionately low-income and minority. \u201cThis is an environmental justice issue,\u201d Enck said. <\/p><p><span>This type of risk is inherent in any major hurricane, especially one that is slated to hit a major population center. But Enck says it is compounded by the fact that President Trump has not appointed an administrator for EPA\u2019s Region 6, which covers both Southeast Texas and Louisiana. \u201cCareer staff will do a good job, but this is a situation where real leadership is needed,\u201d Enck said, recalling her own experience. During Sandy, she said, her position was \u201cround the clock.\u201d As the agency works to solve multiple pollution events at once after a storm, \u201cT<\/span><span>he regional administrator troubleshoots and is the interface with the state environmental agencies, regional staff, and the EPA in Washington,\u201d Enck said. \u201cFEMA<\/span><span> is in the lead, but EPA plays a crucial role.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span>Fortunately, the acting administrator in EPA\u2019s Region 6 office at the moment appears experienced in responding to natural disasters that result in environmental catastrophe. According to the agency\u2019s website, <\/span><span>Samuel Coleman,<\/span><span> \u201cguided EPA\u2019s response to Hurricane Katrina as the agency\u2019s senior federal official in New Orleans, leading EPA\u2019s emergency response and recovery missions.\u201d In 2009 Coleman was awarded a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award for his work on Katrina.<\/span><\/p><p>This is a stroke of luck for Trump, who has been so preoccupied with the superficial drama of his presidency that he\u2019s <a href=\"/article/144497/heres-hurricane-harvey-scary-unprecedented\">barely mentioned<\/a> the coming storm at all. <span>Hopefully, the communities in the path of Harvey will all be just as lucky. <\/span><span>But <\/span><span>the future impact of Trump\u2019s dismal policy agenda\u2014which so far has <\/span><a href=\"/article/144156/were-brink-major-environmental-disaster-ready\">increased the risk of environmental disaster<\/a><span> <\/span><span>without increasing disaster preparation\u2014gives us something else to worry about. E<\/span><span>ven if the president can manage on Friday to curb his theatrics and focus on the storm of the decade, it\u2019s unlikely that an environmental disaster will be anywhere near the front of his mind. <\/span><\/p>","deck":"The powerful storm is headed straight toward the heart of the American petrochemical industry, while a key EPA response position remains unfilled.","bylines":null,"type":"LONGFORM","slug":"hurricane-harvey-also-major-pollution-disaster","nid":144513,"url":"/article/144513/hurricane-harvey-also-major-pollution-disaster","urlFull":"https://newrepublic.com/article/144513/hurricane-harvey-also-major-pollution-disaster","status":"PUBLISHED","publishedAt":"2017-08-25T10:00:00.000Z","displayAt":null,"ledeImageCaption":"David J. 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