SC Stands with Rep. Pallone for Safe Drinking Water

Laurence Harbor, NJ.- The New Jersey Sierra Club is joining Congressman Pallone this morning for a press conference on S.3021, America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. This important piece of legislation reauthorizes the Safe Drinking Water Act for the first time in 20 years and provides significant funding to state and local governments that are in dire need of upgrading their drinking water infrastructure. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“It was critical to get this bill passed protect our water supply from contaminates. This bill having bipartisan support, even with a Congress that holds a terrible environmental record, shows just how important these issues are. This bill will move us forward with funding the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and removing lead from our drinking water infrastructure, especially in underserved areas. We can work to make our infrastructure more resilient to climate and weather events and ensure clean drinking water for generations to come but it’s going to take cooperation and legislation like this. We’re holding this event at a school today as a reminder that we must protect our most precious resources: our children.

“New Jersey has a serious problem with lead throughout the state. We have higher rates than in Flint Michigan in some places. Thousands of children are diagnosed with lead poisoning in our state each year, leading to health impacts at even small doses. This bill will also help us monitor for and treat other contaminates such as Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFAs). Recently, the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst tested for 24,000 times the limit of PFAs. These can damage the liver, thyroid, pancreas and hormone levels. This is an emerging chemical problem across the state that needs to be addressed.

“Here in New Jersey, drinking water infrastructure is especially important. Our state has a major problem when it comes the quality and quantity of its drinking water and the infrastructure is also falling apart. We could be the first state East of the Colorado River to run out of water because of pollution, over-development, and climate impacts. One quarter of our water is also leaking out of these pipes. We have incidents of contaminated drinking water across the state, especially in places like Newark, Paterson, and Camden.

“Protecting our drinking water costs money and a long-term solution, and that’s where this legislation comes into play. We want to thank Congressman Pallone for fighting for this important bill that will help New Jersey, and the rest of the country, fortify our drinking water infrastructure. In the light of recent contamination outbreaks and worsening climate impacts, it’s more important than ever that we protect our most precious natural resources in all communities across the nation. This money is an investment in protecting our health and our children while creating jobs for New Jersey.”