State officials tell legislators that educating West residents about plant was local responsibility
AUSTIN — Texas Department of Public Safety officials this morning told state lawmakers that educating residents in West – and in other Texas towns – about possible dangers of chemicals stored in nearby facilities falls to local officials.
“It’s a local up,” DPS Director Steve McCraw said during a legislative hearing in Austin. “It’s not a state down.”
Those and other assessments of various state agencies’ oversight and enforcement roles came during a Texas House committee hearing about the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people, injured more than 200 others and damaged scores of houses in the small Central Texas town.
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Shortly after the hearing ended, Democratic-leaning advocacy group Progress Texas blasted state leaders for what they say is a dangerous lack of regulation. The group’s political director said in a prepared statement that Texans’ health and safety should be a priority.
More at http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/state-house-members-begin-questioning-experts-on-west-explosion.html/
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