The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it will not conduct soil testing at properties affected by the Eaton and Palisades wildfires post-cleaning. This decision marks a deviation from two decades of routine soil testing, which was established to ensure no toxic contamination lingered after significant wildfires in California. Army Corps officials justify this with the assertion that removing six inches of topsoil is adequate for contamination removal. Local officials expressed concern and called for discussions to address public safety regarding this new policy.
"When the state does a request for direct federal assistance ... they make that request of [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], and we get brought on to do a specific scope."
"We're going to sit down and talk about this, because this is a concern. We don't want to discount it."
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