Recent testing found that bottled water sold across New England has dangerously high levels of toxic PFAS chemicals. Without strong federal regulations, states have an important role to play to protect the public from exposure to these dangerous toxics. Vermont appears to be the only New England state that took the necessary steps to ensure that the contaminated water is off store shelves.
The owners of the Coventry landfill are champing at the bit to supersize Vermont’s only active disposal site. But state regulators are holding out on approving one last permit needed for the expansion. This is because Casella has not yet addressed how it will safely dispose of one of the landfill’s most toxin-laden byproducts: leachate.… Continue reading Is Toxic Landfill Wastewater Coming to a Stream or Farm Near You?
“It is encouraging to see that Governor Baker has recognized this growing public health crisis and has proposed real dollars to fund a solution,” said Alyssa Rayman-Read, Vice President and Director of CLF Massachusetts. “With the federal government shirking its responsibility, New England’s leaders must step up and commit more than lip service to solving this problem. Families deserve drinking water that is free from these poisonous chemicals.”
“The problem here is that we’re putting the cart before the horse a little bit … before we have the results back from investigations that are going on into what is the safest way to treat it,” she said.
This session, the Rhode Island General Assembly missed opportunities to make progress on a wide range of environmental issues. CLF and other environmental organizations pushed for action on the climate crisis, toxic chemicals, and plastics pollution, but no substantial new laws were enacted. It was not a total loss, however, as we were successful in preventing passage of some harmful measures.
“PFAS chemicals are poisonous to humans and have no place in our water,” said Meredith Hatfield, Senior Attorney at CLF. “With the federal government dodging its responsibility on this critical issue, real action on the state level is the only way to combat this crisis. These rules are an important first step to protect the drinking water for New Hampshire families.”
“It is really important for people to understand that this is not just isolated to Bennington,” said Jen Duggan, director of Conservation Law Foundation Vermont. “This has the potential to impact a large portion of the state.
“Toxic PFAS chemicals are threatening drinking water and public health across New Hampshire,” said Tom Irwin, Vice President and Director of CLF New Hampshire. “The new standards proposed today are a significant step in the right direction for protecting our communities, but more needs to be done. We must address the cumulative impacts of these four PFAS, and the state needs to regulate the thousands of other known PFAS created by the chemical industry.”
“Toxic PFAS chemicals are threatening drinking water and public health across New Hampshire,” Tom Irwin, director of the Conservation Law Foundation in New Hampshire.
“DuPont and 3M have knowingly poisoned our water for decades while reaping billions in profits,” said Jen Duggan, Vice President and Director of CLF Vermont. “These companies have no right to pollute our drinking water and our bodies. Attorney General Donovan recognizes the need to hold the responsible parties accountable for putting these toxic forever chemicals into our water and our health at risk.”
