June 9, 2004
The Honorable Mike Leavitt, Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
Dear Administrator Leavitt:
I am writing to request that you immediately release the documents concerning the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denial of San Diego County's request for reimbursement of private property debris removal for the 2003 wildfires as well as EPA evaluations of the ash testing report conducted by GeoSyntec. I understand that EPA has decided, at this time, not to release these documents citing Exemption 5 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). I ask that you reconsider this decision and release these documents.
FEMA stated in its report that EPA had performed "an independent and objective evaluation of the County report." It also mentioned that, "the USEPA advised FEMA that the test results do not indicate conditions significant enough to warrant that the burned debris is hazardous to humans and the environment." FEMA never provided any evaluation to the county and then made a decision to deny its request for reimbursement based on your report. It is reasonable to think that if an EPA evaluation is used to deny a request for federal assistance for an emergency that the evaluation should be made public.
In light of the disagreement over whether or not debris posed a risk to residents, I urge you to release these documents immediately so that San Diego County will have all relevant and useful information as it exercises its rights in the FEMA appeals process. Any attempt to circumvent FOIA may lead to further distrust and could keep San Diego County from receiving a reimbursement it rightfully deserves.
I look forward to your prompt reply. Should you or your staff have questions regarding this letter, please contact Humberto Peraza at my San Diego office. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator