into the Sacramento River system, source of one-
fifth of the state’s water.
One major wildfire last year overran the Iron
Mountain Superfund site, nearly destroying its
water-treatment system and risking a massive,
poisonous explosion if flames reached the
heart of the mine, the GAO said. Firefighters
used special gear to stop the flames. Site
operators have since swapped out PCB pipes
carrying away the toxic waste for flame-
resistant steel ones.
And east of Houston along the San Jacinto
River, record rains under Hurricane Harvey
dissolved part of a temporary cap on a 40-
acre (16-hectare) Superfund site, exposing
contaminated material. EPA testing there
afterward found dioxin at more than 2,000 times
the maximum recommended level.
Superfund sites in that coastal part of Texas “are
incredibly vulnerable,” said Jackie Young, head
of the Texas Health and Environment Alliance
advocacy group. While the EPA has since directed
that the toxic waste at the damaged site be
moved to higher ground, other Superfund sites
in the area are still at risk, Young said.
“It’s highly unacceptable that our communities
and our first responders” in hurricanes and other
disasters “may be exposed to contaminants
someone left decades prior,” Young said.
The EPA’s current five-year strategic plan does
not include goals or strategies for handling
growing risks under climate change, the GAO
report said. The most recent previous five-
year plan, under President Barack Obama,
listed addressing climate change as one of
four main strategic goals. Obama-era plans