Dm B7 Whitman Fdr- Draft- Christie Todd Whitman Questions 431

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Confirm dates: January 31,2001-June 27,2003 Prior to 9/11 any other cases of public disasters - w/ outdoor air quality concerns Some have suggested that after 9/11 EPA was forced to "wing it" because it had never handled anything remotely like the NY disaster area - fair? Prior to 9/11 was EP Areguired to clear its press releases through the White House? How much contact Wj(C!EQlC.onnaughton)? Any circumstances wherFCEQ or White House influenced what EPA said publicly about a situation?

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9/11 happens - what contacts, if any, did you have w/ White House (including CEQ) regarding what EPA's responsibilities were? me Kreisher in your press shop (or public affairs) was the EPA point person w/ Sam Thernstrom — did you have any conversations with her re: what EPA's public message should be or was that handled through your Chief of Staff (McGinniss)? Did you ever receive any complaints from her that WH was being too controlling or were making changes to draft releases that she found unacceptable? There seems to beVsome dispute as to whether the disputes between Kreisher and Thernstrom were on substance or process — can you shed any light on that? Did you receive any direction from the White House re: what EPA's message to New Yorkers should be? The WH apparently did not want (health effects information included in releases — did you get involved in any discussiorj^whetrfer it should or should not be included? The preliminary EPA releases all talk solely about asbestos levels - who made decision that asbestos was the central marker and not PCBs, lead, jet fuel, etc.? One of the top priorities of the administration was to reopen the financial markets — did you have any discussions with anyone at the white house or elsewhere in the administration regarding the desire to open the markets? It was said that markets would not reopen unless air was safe - were you then under a lot of pressure to say safe without having adequate data? Henshaw from OSHA quoted as saying safe to go back to work in financial markets - did he coordinate w/ you on that? On the 18th you are quoted as saying air safe to breathe — basis for that conclusion? Only had data on asbestos at that point? What about other possible toxic chemicals, etc.? Did you have to coordinate your public statements to the press outside of the press release process? By September 14 quoted in Newsweek that "risks negligible" "won't allow people back into buildings unless safe" and other reassuring EPA comments re: long term exposure to asbestos — basis for these comments? You were on NPR morning of September 14 — no health concerns outside immediate area of site - basis for comments? Anyone outside of EPA suggest that is the message you needed to be giving to the public?

Point in time when EPA started posting additional data on website and WH complained apparently started posting because you read staff the riot act re: getting it posted - fair? -^ Did you receive any comments from WH re: shouldn't be posting the data? ' WSJ suggested on 9/25 that people didn't trust EPA's pronouncements and were doing testing on their own — understand article upset you - fair? iA///?

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Was it appropriate for WH to have the role it did in coordinating the public statements of EPA? Were you ever pressured to say something that you did not feel comfortable saying?t • . . EPA OIG issued report re: these issues - were you interviewed Assume you have read it - anything you disagree with in report? Anything else you want to tell the 9/11 commission?