Tangipahoa Parish president says EPA has formed task force to speed Smitty's site cleanup; road reopenings remain priority

Tangipahoa Parish President Miller told the parish council on Sept. 22 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is leading the response to the Smitty's site incident and has formed a task force to speed the cleanup.

"The EPA is still leading the response. The cleanup on the river, the ponds between the river and the site, and the site are all continuing," Miller said, adding that staff have pressed federal officials to increase resources. "After a whole lot of encouragement ... the EPA sent folks from the Dallas region and from D.C., the emergency response team. They came to see the site, visit the ponds, went to the river. And after that, they've created a task force to help speed up the process more."

Miller said the EPA is coordinating with what he described as the federal Office of Budget Management to release additional funds and personnel for on‑the‑ground response work. He said parish staff meet with EPA officials daily, seven days a week, and are urging a parallel plan to reopen Highway 51 and Highway 10, which he said remain closed and are causing major detours affecting school buses and commercial traffic.

"Every day that we meet with them, we meet daily, 7 days a week. Every day we remind them how important it is to get to a point to open Highway 51 and Highway 10," Miller said.

Miller framed reopening the highways as a close second priority behind completing the cleanup, noting local impacts including altered school bus routes and redirected truck traffic.

The council did not take formal action on the update; Miller presented it as an informational report and answered questions from council members.