The first summons for EPA Chief Gina McCarthy to appear before a congressional committee was issued today, one of soon-to-be many judging by the Washington entities lining up to investigate her sorry agency.
GOP Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who chairs the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, has invited McCarthy to be the guest of honor at an inquiry he is hosting on Sept. 9 – that’s exactly 24 hours after Congress returns to D.C. from their summer recess.
“After spilling millions of gallons of toxic chemicals into the Animas River, the EPA has an obligation to be forthcoming about what went wrong and potential long-term impacts on local communities,” Smith said.
For those of you at home keeping score, also lining up in the queue to have a not-so-gentle word with McCarthy are:
- The House Natural Resources Committee, which unfortunately for the EPA is chaired by Republican Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, where Lake Powell was threatened by the spill.
- The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the infamous panel that has investigated headlining scandals at the IRS, ATF, and Hillary Clinton, is also chaired by a Utah Republican, Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to weigh in, which is interesting because U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette sits on that panel and hasn’t had squat diddly to say about the EPA’s disaster.
- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which began a preliminary inquiry last week.
- The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, already involved because the pollution rolled through Southern Ute and Navajo lands, is likely to be just as incensed over the water tanks polluted with oil the EPA delivered to the Navajos.
Finally, from within the Interior Department there is the Bureau of Reclamation leading their own investigation into the clustermuck, and the inspector general of the EPA says he will conduct a “preliminary inquiry.”
Grab some popcorn and a drink, PeakNation™, one helluva circus is about to enter the big top.