EPA Chief Had Hard Choice in New Orleans

[Eugene]

EPA Chief Had Hard Choice in New Orleans

By H. JOSEF HEBERT
The Associated Press
Friday, September 9, 2005; 1:48 AM

-- WASHINGTON (AP _ The decision to pour heavily contaminated
floodwaters from New Orleans streets into Lake Pontchartrain was a
difficult one and could pose new environmental problems in the years
ahead, the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.

"We were all faced with a difficult choice," EPA Administrator Stephen
Johnson said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The choice
was, we have to get the water out of New Orleans for the health and
safety of the people and we need to put it someplace."

The other option was to pour it into the Mississippi River, where it
eventually would move into the Gulf of Mexico, said Johnson. "Our
collective judgment was to put it into Lake Pontchartrain."

He said he could not speculate on the possible environmental fallout
for the massive freshwater tidal estuary, but the EPA was prepared to
"take whatever steps we need to take" to deal with future
environmental problems.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090801693.html

[bluestateguy]

1. How about dumping it into outer space, or on the moon?

How about just collecting all of our garbage and then dumping it all on the moon?

[Nihil]

2. What people?

> "... we have to get the water out of New Orleans for the health and
> safety of the people ..."

But I thought the people were all ordered to evacuate?
*Everybody* had to clear out (or be removed forcibly)?

What's the rush?