Gov. Phil Murphy's administration has ordered five companies responsible for widespread pollution of drinking water systems to spend millions of dollars to assess the extent of contamination and eventually clean up the pollution.
“As a constituent from Whitehall, I’ve got added interest in this race,” said Steve Hvozdovich of Clean Water Action. “The residents of this district are tired of the Donald Trump-Scott Wagner, businessmen turned politicians, who prioritize corporate profits over public health and turn a blind eye to the real impacts our environment is experiencing. Raja is just another candidate from this broken mold, while Pam has spent her life serving others.”
Clean Water Action testified at the Senate Budget Committee's first public hearing on the FY 2020 budget today. Noting these issues really hit home to her as a Newark resident with three asthmatic children, the group’s environmental justice organizer, Kim Gaddy, submitted the following statement.
“Congress required EPA to develop regulations to address hazardous substance spills and leaks into water nearly 30 years ago. The agency's failure to act ignores Congress' intent and puts drinking water sources and communities at risk,” said Lynn Thorp, Clean Water Action’s National Campaigns Director
“Turning over aquifers to fossil fuel companies for injection should only be done with the most extreme caution - if at all. Colorado regulators do not even keep a list of which aquifers have been handed over to the industry, and EPA’s list is full of holes,” said report author, Andrew Grinberg.
Clean Water Action's State Director, Amy Goldsmith, released the following statement in regards to Governor Murphy's signing of the stormwater utility bill (S.1073) today.
On Friday afternoon, a freight train derailed over the 1900 block of Falls Road. Media outlets are reporting that at least five train cars fell at least two stories onto the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, Falls Road, and surrounding green space. Fortunately, no leaks, spills, or injuries have been reported. But this is only a matter of luck, as trains carrying hazardous materials travel through Baltimore routinely.
"We applaud Attorney General Nessel’s decision to remove Michigan from a lawsuit opposing the Clean Water Rule. As Michiganders, we recognize our water is precious. We can’t effectively protect the Great Lakes without also protecting the small streams that flow into them and wetlands that buffer them from pollution. Attorney General Nessel’s withdrawal from this dangerous and shortsighted lawsuit is a win for our drinking water and Great Lakes."
Clean Water Action joined AARP, the Anti-Poverty Network, small businesses and large industrial energy users to call on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and Governor Murphy to protect ratepayers, public health, private property and the environment at a statehouse press conference following NJBPU’s monthly meeting this morning.
Clean Water Action joined representatives of health professionals and organizations from throughout the Delaware River Watershed with residents today to testify before the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC).