AMITE — In a statement Wednesday morning, Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller said the parish is “standing with our residents and pushing for answers” from other agencies related to the fire at Smitty’s Supply on August 22.
“Due to the event’s Unified Command structure, we are allowed in all the meetings where we hear information and have input, but we are frustrated with the long process of validating that information and being able to distribute it to the public,” Miller said Wednesday, echoing the frustration of not only his team but more importantly the citizens of his parish who continue to look for answers in the wake of Friday’s fire at a Roseland manufacturing plant.
Miller met today with Governor Jeff Landry, Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham, Secretary of DEQ Courtney Burdette, Deputy Chief of Staff Kyle Ardoin, EPA Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason, and several other subject-level experts. As of midmorning Wednesday, Miller said these are the facts he can confirm about the status of the Roseland incident:
- Update on the site: The fire is 98 percent contained; only small hot spots remain. An industrial firefighter company has been on site since two hours after the initial event began. The EPA continues to make extensive efforts to contain and mitigate the immediate off-site impacts that lead to the river and the river itself.
- Air Quality: Monitoring is ongoing by DEQ and is within acceptable levels.
- River and site contamination: Extensive booming containment and retrieval of oil in the Tangipahoa River is ongoing. All machinery is in place at multiple locations.
- To report wildlife impacted by the incident, call (832) 514-9663
- Help available for those affected: Smitty’s Hotline is 1-877-891-2276
Miller said the parish will continue to provide updates to the public as they become available. Those reports will be posted on the Tangipahoa.org website and the parish’s social media channels.