August 15, 1964
Page 19736
FISH KILL INVESTIGATION IN THE CITY OF MEMPHIS
Mr. WALTERS. Mr. President, recently I received from the commissioner of the department of public works of the city of Memphis a letter in which he asked that I assist in bringing about a clarification of an apparent misunderstanding as to the cooperation extended to Public Health Service officials during their investigation of the fish kill in that area. I am pleased to ask that there be printed in the RECORD a letter and enclosures which I received from the Senator from Maine [Mr. MUSKIE]. They are substantial evidence that the officials of the city of Memphis were completely cooperative with the Public Health Service representatives.
There being no objection, the letter and enclosures were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
U.S. SENATE,
Washington, D.C.,
August 13,1964.
Hon. HERBERT S. WALTERS,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR HERBERT: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of July 31, 1964, enclosing a copy of a letter which you received from Mr. Pete Sisson, commissioner of the department of public works of the city of Memphis, Tenn. The letter relates to remarks which I made on the Senate floor on June 26, 1964, beginning on page 15192 of the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.
In his letter Mr. Sisson refers to my Senate speech as follows:
"Senator MUSKIE placed in the Senate RECORD a charge that Memphis city crews were giving confusing information on our sewers and hampering the investigation by the Public Health Service with a smoke bomb."
In my Senate speech, I did not make such a statement, nor was it my intent to convey such a thought by implication. I simply undertook to report, from information supplied me by the Public Health Service, the series of difficulties which did, in fact, hamper the investigation. The following is the pertinent section of my Senate speech:
"Experts of the Public Health Service, I am told, made four field trips to the Memphis area, in the weeks immediately preceding the controversy. Their investigations were hampered by a series of difficulties: Smoke bombs were detonated by a city public works crew checking the sewer line leaks, making sampling impossible. They received confusing information about the location and functions of sewers carrying industrial and sanitary wastes. There were signs of construction work on the sewer system between their visits. Despite these obstacles, the investigations were made, and led to conclusions presented at the conference."
I repeat that this is simply a recital of facts supplied me by the Public Health Service, without any implication being intended as to blame or motivation or lack of cooperation. However, inasmuch as Mr. Sisson read such an implication into my speech, I have since inquired of the Public Health Service as to the attitude of the city officials of Memphis toward the Public Health Service in the course of its investigations. I enclose a copy of a letter, dated August 5, 1964, from Gordon E. McCallum, assistant surgeon general, to Mr. Everett C. Handorf, engineer director of the bureau of sanitary engineering in Memphis, on this point. The letter speaks for itself but I refer you particularly to the following paragraph:
"At the outset I want you to know that we have had nothing but the finest of cooperation from your office, and for that matter, from all other officials in Memphis."
The letter also contains the following language:
"We are appreciative of the efforts and assistance provided by the mayor, your office and all other officials of the city of Memphis. Please be assured that we will do everything in our power to clear up the misconception and nullify any inferences that the city of Memphis is hampering investigations."
Please assure Mr. Sisson that I am delighted to get this report, from the Public Health Service and that I had no reason to assume , at the time I made my Senate speech, that the attitude of the city officials in Memphis was otherwise than cooperative.
Sincerely yours,
EDMUND S. MUSKIE,
U.S. Senator.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE,
Washington, D.C.,
August 6,1964.
Hon. EDMUND S. MUSKIE,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR SENATOR MUSKIE: In response to your verbal request of August 5, 1964, I am forwarding to you a copy of my letter to Mr. Everett Handorf, engineer director, Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, Memphis, Tenn. I believe that the attached copy will affirm our appreciation of the cooperation of the Memphis city officials in connection with our investigation in that area.
Yours sincerely,
G. E. McCALLUM,
Assistant Surgeon General Chief,
Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION
AND WELFARE, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE,
Washington, D.C.,
August 5,1964.
Mr. EVERETT C. HANDORF,
Engineer director, bureau of sanitary engineering,
Memphis and Shelby County
Health Department, Memphis, Tenn.
DEAR EVERETT: Mr. Atkins has given me a copy of your letter of July 21 regarding the unfortunate misunderstanding about the smoke bomb incident in Memphis. Your letter was the first I had heard about it.
At the outset I want you to know that we have had nothing but the finest of cooperation from your office, and for that matter, from all other officials in Memphis.
I have inquired into the matter, and as explained to me, this question of the smoke bomb first originated from an explanation that one of our people made concerning his inability to get certain flow measurements at the time the field crew was taking samples in the Memphis sewers early in April. It seems that purely by coincidence the city happened to be making their tests at the same time, which of course, would have no relation to the sampling work by our people.
The man in charge of our investigations in Memphis pointed out that he was unable to obtain some flow measurements because of certain smoke-filled sewers. The press evidently took this as an intimation that the city was hampering the Public Health Service investigation. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are appreciative of the efforts and assistance provided by the
mayor, your office, and all other officials of the city of Memphis. Please be assured that we will do everything in our power to clear up the misconception and nullify any inference that the city of Memphis it hampering investigations.
Sincerely yours,
G. E. McCALLUM,
Assistant Surgeon General,
Chief, Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control.