Delgado Pens Letter To EPA Urging Swift Action On PFOA Contamination
Submitted by the Office of Representative Antonio Delgado
On Friday, January 31, Congressman Delgado penned a letter to the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) Regional Administrator Pete Lopez to follow up on topics Mr. Lopez addressed at the Hoosick Falls Community Working Group meeting the week prior. At the meeting, Rep. Delgado stated that a divided Congress has accomplished more than the current EPA, referring to legislation he introduced to require manufacturers to report their use of PFAS chemicals to the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory.
An amended version of Rep. Delgado’s bill was signed into law as part of an annual defense authorization package. In his letter, the congressman reminded the Regional Administrator, “you stated that the EPA is planning to issue a safe drinking water standard for PFAS. I cannot overemphasize the urgent need to set a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for these toxic chemicals. As you are aware, many residents of Hoosick Falls, Petersburgh, and Americans across the country have been exposed to harmful levels of PFAS chemicals and live with the symptoms of this exposure. The creation of an MCL for these chemicals would demonstrate EPA’s acknowledgement of the dangers posed by PFAS in drinking water, and is an important step to ensure that Americans have access to safe drinking water. Please provide an update on the specific process for establishing an MCL and when our community – and the American people – can expect to see action on this.
You also stated that, in the next three months, you expect the EPA to move forward with the designation of PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). The EPA has been aware of the harm caused by these chemicals since 2001, and studies show that these chemicals are in the drinking water of over 110 million Americans. Adding PFOS and PFOA to the Superfund program would ensure federal resources and oversight during the cleanup process, and is critical to addressing the damage inflicted upon communities who have suffered from the pollution released by manufacturers using these chemicals. I urge you to work with your colleagues to move through the processes in accordance with the time frame you provided and to keep myself and the public informed of any delays.” Mr. Delgado closed his letter by saying “already too much time has passed without meaningful action from the EPA, something that is deeply discouraging to communities like Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh who know first-hand what is at risk.”