Blumenthal, Environmental Advocates Applaud Federal Funding to Address PFAS

WINDSOR — U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., joined environmental advocates and local leaders Monday at Town Hall to applaud funding in the recently passed federal spending bill that will help establish drinking water standards and fund remediation efforts related to per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination.

Researchers have found that PFAS can be toxic at very

low levels, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has dubbed the chemical a “likely human carcinogen.”

PFAS are contained in a variety of consumer products, including stain- and water-repellent fabrics; nonstick products such as Teflon; polishes, waxes, paints, and cleaning products; pizza boxes; and fire-fighting foams.

In June, nearly 50,000 gallons of firefighting foam containing PFAS spilled from a malfunctioning sprinkler system at a hangar at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. The foam found its way to the Farmington River in Windsor, causing concern among nearby residents and prompting the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to conduct soil sampling in the area of Rainbow Road to determine if private wells might be contaminated.

Following the spill, Gov. Ned Lamont formed an interagency task force that in November made several recommendations to address PFAS. It recommended: testing public drinking water sources throughout the state for PFAS; assessing food-related pathways to human PFAS exposure; identifying areas where PFAS have likely been released; testing soil and water at landfills and firefighting training grounds; and instituting a buyback program for fire departments that use fire-suppression foam containing PFAS.

At Windsor Town Hall on Monday, Blumenthal, who has been out front in the effort to regulate and ultimately ban the use of certain PFAS-containing products such as firefighting foam, reiterated that the issue is a national one, and advocates have been successful in raising awareness. The latest illustration of the effort, Blumenthal said, is the appropriations bill Congress recently passed that contains “many significant commitments” aimed at addressing PFAS contamination, to the tune of about $275 million.

While the majority of that funding—about $250 million — will be put toward remediation efforts around the country — Blumenthal said that one of the most important commitments is $3 million that will be provided to the Environmental Protection Agency for the research and establishment of drinking water standards with regard to PFAS contamination.

“People in the state of Connecticut deserve drinking water standards for their wells, for their tap water, for the water that they consume every day, because PFAS contamination is potentially deadly,” he said.

Blumenthal said the bill calls for the EPA to return a report on drinking water standards within 60 days of the signing of the bill. He added that it was Congress’ job to stay on the backs of the agencies called to action by the bill, particularly the EPA, which under the Trump administration has rolled back dozens of environmental regulations.

“There is no assuming the EPA is going to do the right thing here,” he said.

Blumenthal also added that though the bill doesn’t require the EPA to declare PFAS a hazardous substance, that remains an “essential goal.”

State environmental advocates on hand Monday at Town Hall also applauded the new funding. Anne Hulick, the Connecticut director of the national environmental nonprofit Clean Water Action, said that though Lamont’s task force developed a comprehensive plan to address PFAS, the state is “quickly learning” the cost of that plan, so the federal funding — about $20 million of which will be available to states in the form of grants — is a “huge step forward.”

Hulick said that establishing a “maximum contaminant level” for drinking water is a “top priority to protect health,” saying that PFAS are linked to several types of cancer, reproductive disorders, and immune system problems in children.

Long Island Soundkeeper Bill Lucey said the funding is “a really positive first step” that shows that people are finally starting to take the issue of PFAS contamination seriously, saying that the first study that showed warning signs about PFAS is more than 50 years old.

Lucey said the recently approved funding hits “a lot of areas that need attention,” and, like Blumenthal and Hulick, applauded the establishment of drinking water standards.

“We need to have a speed limit,” he said. “We need to know that when we turn on that water that it’s healthy to drink,” he said.

Windsor Mayor Donald Trinks said Monday that soil near one private well on Rainbow Road was tested for PFAS contamination, but the town hasn’t yet received the results. Trinks acknowledged the slow turnaround time, saying the samples are being tested in British Columbia, and saying that he hoped that continued attention and pressure could speed the process.

Jane Oswecki, who lives on Rainbow Road, was one of four residents who attended Monday. Oswecki, representing herself and several of her neighbors who were unable to attend, said that it had been “extraordinarily difficult” to get DEEP officials to answer their questions related to soil testing.

“We’re sort of operating in the dark here,” she said.

Oswecki said not having any answers has been hard for her and her neighbors, including one who has been carting in bottled water for his grandchildren to use when he watches them.

Oswecki requested that DEEP appoint someone to serve as their point of contact on the issue. Blumenthal said he would contact both Lamont’s office and DEEP, and Hulick added that she believes DEEP is aware that communication with the residents has been “a major gap.”

“They’re working to resolve that and figure out a better solution for communicating,” she said.

———

©2019 Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.

Visit Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn. at www.journalinquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.