“The public absolutely has a right to know if their drinking water is safe,” said Brad Campbell, President of CLF. “These new standards are a major advance in safeguarding our water from toxic PFAS. The provision for three-year reviews will further protect us and will ensure that these critical standards keep pace with the growing body of science on PFAS toxicity.”
Every New Hampshire resident should be able to turn on their taps without wondering if the water is safe to drink. Yet a judge’s order to postpone testing of public water systems for dangerous chemicals is leaving residents in the dark about how best to keep themselves and their families safe.
“We should never have to wonder if the water coming out of our taps is safe,” said Jen Duggan, Director of CLF Vermont. “The federal government has utterly failed to protect us from these toxic forever chemicals, so it is up to Vermont to take action. Vermonters must make their voices heard and tell regulators to put standards in place that get all of these chemicals out of our water once and for all.”
Although the State has taken important first steps to clean up our drinking water, the work will not be done until we stop chasing these chemicals down one by one and remove all PFAS from water supplies.
Even as we mourn the lives lost to COVID-19 and absorb the heavy toll it has taken on our economy, we must recognize that the old “normal” left too many communities unhealthy and especially vulnerable to the pandemic. Replicating that old “normal” will squander an opportunity to reduce climate danger while building healthier and more just communities for all.
“The rules are designed to protect people in New Hampshire from the dangerous impacts of these toxic chemicals, and it’s essential that they are allowed to go into effect,” said Tom Irwin, Vice President and Director of CLF New Hampshire. “We all should be able to turn on our taps without wondering if our water is safe. 3M’s case is nothing more than a giant corporation’s attempt to put their profits over the health and safety of our communities.”
For centuries, Atlantic cod has been essential to New England’s identity. Yet today, you can rarely find locally caught cod in a grocery store or on a menu – because it has been fished to the brink of disaster. Here’s what it’s going to take to save New England’s founding fish.
Toxic “forever chemicals” are everywhere: in our nonstick pans, our food packaging, our water-repellant rain jackets. The Vermont legislature is considering a bill that would protect us from these dangerous chemicals by banning PFAS in food packaging, carpets, and firefighting foam. This bill will help keep toxic “forever chemicals” out of our products and out of our drinking water.
In the absence of strong federal action, the Conservation Law Foundation and other environmental groups have been pushing the Rhode Island Department of Health for more than a year to come up with an enforceable drinking water standard for the compounds.
A bill currently under consideration by the Rhode Island General Assembly would force overdue action to address this public health threat.
