California Could Lose Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Lead Contamination Protections (Again)
SACRAMENTO – Public health and environmental organizations urged stronger State leadership in efforts to remove lead from drinking water infrastructure throughout California. In a support letter, the organizations called on the California State Water Resources Control Board to address the state’s disturbing failure to recognize its ongoing lead problem.
The letter notes that by refusing to document the full scope of lead contamination, the state has already forfeited hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding intended to protect against the well-documented dangers of lead-contaminated drinking water. It also notes that time is running out for decisionmakers to protect Californians from ongoing lead exposure, while hundreds of millions of dollars remain on the line.
The following is a statement from Corinne Bell, a senior attorney with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“Time is running out to protect Californians from the irreversible dangers of lead-contaminated drinking water. The state should properly survey and document lead-contaminated infrastructure in order to take advantage of valuable resources being offered up on a silver platter. State decision makers should act responsibly to ensure Californians, particularly those consistently bearing the weight of environmental injustice, get the resources they deserve.”
Corinne’s blog on the dangers of this missed opportunity is available here.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.