The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is collaborating with federal, state and local partners in response to Hurricane Fiona.
EPA's initial assignment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to helping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, a Sept. 21 news release said.
"We stand with the resilient people of Puerto Rico as they begin to recover from Hurricane Fiona's devastation. We are working with other federal agencies to help ensure recovery is swift and will mobilize more resources as needed in the coming weeks," EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said in the release. "Making Hurricane Fiona’s blow to Puerto Rico more poignant is that it came at the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which had catastrophic impacts that the people of Puerto Rico are still working to recover from even today."
EPA offers important resources online in English and Spanish about floodwaters, mold, hazardous debris and other hurricane impacts, the release said.
"Five years after Hurricane Maria made landfall, EPA’s work in the Caribbean continues and is focused on long-term recovery, including solid waste management, drinking water and wastewater infrastructure issues," Garcia said, according to the release. "We will work to couple those ongoing efforts as we respond to the impacts from Hurricane Fiona.”
