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CNN Live At Daybreak
FEMA Director Discusses New York Repairs
Aired October 11, 2001 - 09:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: You're looking at a live picture of the sight that's become known as the pile where earlier today a memorial service took place in New York City. It was at the sight where the Twin Trade Towers once stood. Rescue workers, clergymen, and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani were on hand for the service.
So was FEMA Director Joe Albaugh, who has spent many hours at the sight over the last month, and he joins us now. Welcome back.
JOE ALBAUGH, FEMA DIRECTOR: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: You were at the service.
ALBAUGH: I was.
ZAHN: How did it feel?
ALBAUGH: It was an emotional moment. It's difficult to describe. You hearken back over the last 30 days, all the experiences we as Americans have gone through, both physically and emotionally. Work did not stop during the service, as it should not. And yet we were able to bring together 1,000 or so of the workers to pay a moment of respect. It was an incredible event.
ZAHN: I think what made it so hard for some people to watch, including myself, as you know that standing at that makeshift podium, that happened to be the same place where families come, right...
ALBAUGH: That's correct.
ZAHN: ... who have lost their loved ones?
ALBAUGH: That's correct. That by itself makes it a very emotional moment, knowing that those individuals who are looking for closure, looking for answers that I am deeply concerned about, making sure they get the proper counseling, that they share that same podium looking from the southwest corner of building two.
But we have a long way to go. We've removed about 250,000 tons of debris. We've opened up pier six, which will expedite the removal of the debris. Folks are noticing more smoke. That's because, during the de-layering process, oxygen gets to the fires and they...
ZAHN: I mean, that's what's so stunning to watch... ALBAUGH: It is.
ZAHN: ... that a month later you still have smoke, rising from that site and, I understand, water underneath the building is 180 degrees?
ALBAUGH: It's very warm. There are some pretty hot spots that individuals can't even get close to. It will take probably another three months to get to ground level of that debris that's above ground, and then...
ZAHN: Really? Just to get to ground level?
ALBAUGH: That's right. And then you have six stories below, and it will take a while -- six, seven months, maybe a year or two to really clean up the site.
It is still hallowed ground, because those workers that are there -- pipe fitters, steel cutters, steel workers, iron workers, teamsters -- they know that they are working on hallowed ground where individuals still remain.
ZAHN: Your agency is under intense scrutiny now, of course, as you oversee this enormous effort down there. And an audit recently showed -- and this was long before you ever arrived at FEMA -- that there were some abuses in the system after the Northridge quake in California, where a building that could have been restored to its pre- quake capacity could have cost $24 million; instead, FEMA ended up giving these folks over $400 million to rebuild it.
Will we see those kinds of abuses?
ALBAUGH: Actually, the figure is more like $17 billion at this point. But I hope we don't see those types of abuses. We have individuals from our own inspector general's office monitoring the debris removal process. As we speak, we have individuals from the Corps of Engineers working fervently with city officials. Ritchie Shearer (ph) and his group, they've done a phenomenal job. Rudy Giuliani, Tommy Von Essen (ph), Bernard Kerrick (ph) -- I mean, they're first-class individuals and they're leaders at a time that this city needs leadership. And they're doing a great job.
But I think we'll be fine. I think taxpayers should be comforted in the fact that we're doing all we possibly can to protect against those abuses.
ZAHN: Because I -- you know, that came up in a previous administration. Does it make you sick when you see that numbers (sic)? Because it's basically federal taxpayers underwriting...
ALBAUGH: Well...
ZAHN: ... the building of these buildings in...
ALBAUGH: ... it does, but...
ZAHN: ... L.A.
ALBAUGH: ... at the same time, Paula, it doesn't do any good to point fingers. We need to be looking forward as opposed to looking backward.
And again, taxpayers need to be comforted in the fact that we've made some necessary changes, as we should as a government, to take care of those potential abuses.
ZAHN: What is the single largest challenge confronting FEMA right now as it tries to get a real fix on what you face?
You were saying this morning that it could take a whole year to get the site...
ALBAUGH: It could.
ZAHN: ... cleaned up.
ALBAUGH: I'm most worried, again, about those families. You think about Oklahoma City. It happened six years ago this past April. Families are still recovering from that tragedy. We have individuals who haven't registered yet. They're not wanting to start that closure process. I want to make sure that they have long-term counseling.
We have workers that live in Queens or in the Bronx, and they've lost their job from Lower Manhattan. We need to make sure that they get proper counseling, as well as unemployment benefits.
There are just a hodge-podge of individuals all across New York City and Pennsylvania, you know, at the Pentagon site, that I still care deeply about insofar as making sure we're doing as -- what we need to do as FEMA.
ZAHN: Well, you've got a huge job ahead. Thank you for dropping by.
ALBAUGH: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: We know how busy you are. Good luck.
ALBAUGH: Good to see you.
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