Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, August/September 2005: Key Environmental Coverage

The stories listed below are categorized by issue and updated daily. Within each issue section, stories are in chronological order so you will find the latest/breaking news on that particular issue at the top of its section. Helpful hint: Headings in the "Issue Menu" marked with an asterisk contain 'latest news' items posted (but not necessarily published) October 10, 2005. Please note that some stories require free registration. Links for older stories may no longer be active but we leave them posted for the record, and for research/contact purposes.

Issue Menu
General Environmental Implications
Information Access
Polluted Floodwaters
Public Drinking Water and Sewage Treatment Systems
Oil and Chemical Spills, Releases, and Incidents *
Levees and Flood Control Issues
Katrina's Natural Disaster/Security Implications
Federal Legislative/Regulatory Response
Wetlands and Barrier Islands
Redevelopment/Rebuilding of Stricken Areas
Coastal Development
Hurricanes and Climate Change
Fish, Wildlife, and Ecosystems
Commercial Fisheries Impacts
Katrina's Energy Implications *
Air Pollution

General Environmental Implications

Information Access
Polluted Floodwaters
Public Drinking Water and Sewage Treatment Systems
Oil and Chemical Spills, Releases, and Incidents
  • "Fear Centered Below Surface at Polluted Sites," USA TODAY, October 10, 2005, by Traci Watson
  • "Sampling Shows Contamination; Chemist Opposes Return," Baton Rouge Advocate, October 7, 2005, by Mike Dunne
  • "Cleaning Up Katrina Oil Spills May Take Months," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 29, 2005, by Scott Streater
  • "Murphy Hit with Lawsuits over Louisiana Oil Spill," Reuters via Planet Ark, September 19, 2005. "Murphy Oil Corp. Friday said it was sued in federal court for a crude-oil spill at its Meraux, Louisiana refinery, triggered by Hurricane Katrina, that covered parts of a nearby parish in a layer of sludge. The company said the lawsuits, filed in the US Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, are seeking damages for residents of St. Bernard Parish in southeast Louisiana. St. Bernard residents were told this week that, when they return in coming days, they will have to wear rubber gloves and boots."
  • "Katrina Leaves a Toxic Nightmare; Oil Spills Rival Exxon Valdez; Water Clogged With Deadly Chemicals," Dallas Morning News, September 15, 2005, by Randy Lee Loftis.

    "Hurricane Katrina is rapidly becoming the worst environmental calamity in U.S. history, with oil spills rivaling the Exxon Valdez, hundreds of toxic sites still uncontrolled, and waterborne poisons soaking 160,000 homes." ...

    "Across southern Louisiana, the Coast Guard reported seven major oil spills from refineries or tank farms that totaled 6.7 million gallons, or 61 percent as much as the 11 million gallons that leaked into Alaska's Prince William Sound from the Exxon Valdez in 1989."

    "The total does not count the gasoline from gas stations and the more than 300,000 flooded cars, which was likely to add another 1 million to 2 million gallons. Nor does it count the oil from hundreds of smaller or undiscovered spills. Altogether, 396 calls had come in to the Coast Guard's national oil-spill hotline by Wednesday afternoon."

    "More than three-quarters of the oil from the Katrina spills had not been recovered by Wednesday, the Coast Guard said."

    "The magnitude of the oil spills came into focus with word that laboratories trying to test sediment from newly drained areas were having a problem: There was so much petroleum in the dirt that they couldn't test for anything else." ... (Copyright © Dallas Morning News)

  • "DEQ: Rail Cars Pose Hazards; No Leaks So Far, But Data Still Sketchy," Baton Rouge Advocate, September 15, 2005, by Amy Wold. "Hundreds and possibly thousands of railcars in the area hit by Hurricane Katrina could be an environmental hazard. ... The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has requested information from railroad companies on the contents and conditions of these rail cars, but so far the response has been weak, officials said."
  • "An Ecological Hazard: Report Offers 'Grave' View of Impact on Environment," Houston Chronicle, September 15, 2005, by Dina Cappiello. "Drums full of hazardous medical waste and industrial chemicals float in the tainted floodwaters."
  • "Katrina Lays Bare Superfund Woes; Concern Rises That Storm May Have Compromised Cleanup of Toxic Sites Around New Orleans — and Created New Ones" Christian Science Monitor, September 15, 2005, by Brad Knickerbocker. "The receding floodwaters in New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast are exposing hazardous chemicals and other dangerous waste. But they're also revealing the accomplishments — and the limits — of government programs designed to clean up such pollution."
  • "Pollution: Residents Worry About the Threat of Hazardous Chemicals," New York Times, September 9, 2005, by Ian Urbina and Matthew L. Wald
  • "Murphy Says Oil Spill at Refinery Due Katrina," Reuters via Planet Ark, September 5, 2005
  • "Murphy Oil Tank in Louisiana Spills," New Orleans Times-Picayune (Associated Press), September 4, 2005
  • "Hurricane Katrina: EPA Response," EPA Region 6 Press Release of September 5, 2005. The release describes the Murphy Oil spill, giving the location as Chalmette (rather than Meraux, the location cited in other accounts).
  • "Big Oil Spill Spotted Near Tanks on Miss.," Associated Press via New York Times, September 2, 2005 (1:33 p.m. ET). "NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A huge oil spill was spotted near two storage tanks on the Mississippi River downstream from New Orleans, state officials said Friday."
  • "Depot Explodes Over Lawless New Orleans," Associated Press via New York Times, September 2, 2005. "NEW ORLEANS — An explosion at a chemical depot jolted residents awake early Friday, illuminating the pre-dawn sky with red and orange flames over a city awash in corpses and under siege from looters. There were no immediate reports of injuries."
  • "DuPont Plant Slammed by Katrina; Gulf Coast Facility at 'Ground Zero' of Storm," Wilmington News Journal, August 31, 2005, by Jeff Montgomery
Levees and Flood Control Issues
Katrina's Natural Disaster/Security Implications
Federal Legislative/Regulatory Response
  • "Senator Wants EPA Rules Eased for Katrina," Associated Press via Washington Post, September 15, 2005, by John Heilprin. "Legislation that would allow the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily suspend or relax its rules because of Hurricane Katrina is being prepared by the Republican chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The proposal is being readied despite EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson's assurance he has no immediate need for any regulatory waivers. Johnson gave a closed-door briefing Wednesday to the committee's chairman, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, and other committee members."
  • "Bill Would Let E.P.A. Relax Rules for Cleanup," New York Times, September 16, 2005, by Michael Janofsky. Correction Appended.
Wetlands and Barrier Islands
Redevelopment/Rebuilding of Stricken Areas
Coastal Development
Hurricanes and Climate Change
Fish, Wildlife, and Ecosystems
Commercial Fisheries Impacts
Katrina's Energy Implications
Air Pollution

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