Mayor: Houston is ‘open for business’

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the nation’s fourth-largest city is “open for business,” despite the devastation left in the wake of Harvey. “Anyone who was planning on a conference or a convention or a sporting event or a concert coming to this city, you can still come,” he told CBS News. “We can do multiple things at the same time.” But areas in the city remain under water, people are not back in their homes, and there are billions of dollars in damage caused by the tropical storm to repair. Authorities said Monday that it is now safe for residents who live near the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, to return to their homes. Explosions at the plant caused by flooding led to a forced evacuation last Tuesday, but a controlled burn of highly unstable compounds Sunday evening eliminated any further risk to residents. Floodwaters also inundated at least five toxic waste Superfund sites near Houston, but the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to assess the full extent of the damage. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told CNN the EPA is “working on some of them already,” but “they have restraints on their ability to check out some of them just simply because of the water.” Mayor Turner said that the city’s drinking water had not been affected but told CBS, “We would hope that the EPA would be on the ground now to take a look at those Superfund sites, to make sure that contamination is contained and limited.”

See “Harvey Relief” for information on organizations assisting victims affected by the storm.