A Little Help HERE
March
7, 2016
The
Honorable
James
P. McGovern
United
States House of Representatives
Dear
Mr. McGovern,
I
was pleased to read about your response to the contaminated water supply in
Flint Michigan in the Worcester Telegram. But I have to wonder if you are even
aware of the contaminated drinking water wells in your own backyard. Less than
20 miles from your Worcester seat in the town of Charlton are families going
through the same hardships as the residents of Flint Michigan. Our wells have
been contaminated by two different sources in two different areas of our town.
Two
separate gasoline spills have contaminated drinking water sources with human
carcinogen methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). ExxonMobil was named the
responsible party by the DEP. These spills are decades old and the issue still has
not been resolved and test results are still showing contamination.
The
other area of town with contaminated wells is in close proximity to the
Southbridge Landfill and directly affects my property and family. 1,4 Dioxane a
human carcinogen was detected in over 20 residential drinking water wells
within a half mile of the Southbridge Landfill. Mr. McGovern you stated during
your trip to Flint Michigan “One of the tragedies here is that the state’s
governor knew about this for a long time and, in fact, did nothing. That
indifference is unconscionable.” Well Casella, who operates the landfill for
the town of Southbridge, first detected 1,4 Dioxane at my neighbor’s well at 70 H. Foote Road back in 2012. It
appears there was no 2 hour reporting requirement of this to the MassDEP back
in September & December 2014 when their well was retested and the drinking
water standard was exceeded. The spread of contamination may have been slowed
years ago if appropriate action had been taken. All these affected families are
now on bottled water.
Casella
has been named the “potential responsible party” by the MassDEP not the
“responsible party” even though some of the monitoring wells around the
landfill have tested at 4ug/L which is 10
times above the drinking water standard! The landfill has been classified
as a hazardous release site and there is no other potential release site in the
area. Mr. McGovern you also stated “But the indifference in leaders of the
state of Michigan for what was going on in Flint blows my mind. They knew about
this. They knew the water was poisoned, and they sat on their hands.” How is
this any different than the MassDEP not naming Casella the responsible party
and allowing them to conduct an investigation for the next six months just to
try to prove the contaminated water is not flowing from the landfill?
Not
only is Casella conducting this study, they have stated to MassDEP that they
plan to test for 1,4 Dioxane using 827OD-SIM instead of the MassDEP directed
522 method. The 522 method can detect lower limits and give more accurate
reportable results. While this is going on Casella had also filed with MassDEP
a request to expand the landfill and part of the expansion was to put more
trash on top of older unlined cells in the landfill. Thankfully the MassDEP had
the foresight to put this on hold.
Mr.
McGovern to quote you again, “We are not a third world country. When people
drink water from their faucet they should not have to worry about it being
polluted. We know what we need to do.”
I
applaud you for your efforts to help the families of Flint Michigan and I would
hope you would do the same for your own constituents. Mr. McGovern we are
asking you to please step in to help get municipal water to our homes and to
name Casella and the Town of Southbridge the Responsible Parties.
Please
do not let another Flint Michigan develop in your own backyard.
Sincerely,
Kevin
M. Weldon
66
H. Foote Road
Charlton,
MA 01507
kmweldon@charter.net.
Flint water crisis: US Reps. Jim McGovern, Katherine Clark call for Congressional action to address infrastructure, help affected residents
U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, and Katherine
Clark, D-Melrose, joined more than 20 congressional colleagues in
traveling to Flint, Michigan on Friday, March 4, 2016 to meet with
residents affected by the city's water crisis.
(Photo Courtesy: Rep. Clark's office)
The Massachusetts Democrats joined about two dozen U.S. House colleagues, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in meeting with Flint residents impacted by lead-contaminated water.
The trip sought to bring attention to the crisis, which occurred when the city, under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, temporarily switched its drinking water source.
The state's response to news of the contaminated water has drawn criticism from Democrats, who have called on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, to resign.
Snyder and other Republicans, including presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., meanwhile, have blasted Democrats for "politicizing" the situation.
McGovern, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus which helped organize the trip, rejected claims that his party is "politicizing" Flint's water crisis.
"I'm not interested in politicizing anything," he said in an interview. "This is not about politics, this is about government and it's about making sure that the government works. The federal government, working with the state government, has a role in ensuring we have adequate infrastructure and this is an example of failure."
McGovern added that while the trip was largely organized by Democrats, there's nothing stopping Republican members of Congress or GOP presidential candidates from visiting the city.
"No one has to be invited to Flint to go to Flint," he said. "What's troubling to me is there are a lot of people that don't want to go and be part of the solution. Maybe they don't want to offend the governor, who is a Republican, but this is a human tragedy."
The Worcester Democrat, who is part of a small group of lawmakers working on comprehensive water infrastructure legislation, said he hopes to put out a bill within a few months to help address the issues that led to Flint's crisis and prevent it from happening elsewhere. McGovern said he's optimistic that the proposal could garner some bipartisan support.
Clark, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also said she remains optimistic that federal lawmakers can work across the aisle on the issue.
"When we bring these stories back to Congress, I think it will be very hard not to be touched," she said in an interview. "I hope it will become a bipartisan effort."
The Melrose Democrat said she traveled to Flint because, as a mother herself, she could not imagine what the city's residents are going through.
"To feel the hopelessness of having your own government mislead you into thinking the water was fine to serve your families...that's what really compelled me to come to Flint today," she said.
Clark, who attended a "Speak Out" event with her colleagues, said she found it striking to see the overwhelming concern residents have about their families getting the services they need, as well as the strong push that those responsible for the contaminated water be held accountable.
"There's a real fear that won't happen," she said. "People are focused on the immediate needs of their children, families and parents, but they are also really demanding that people be held accountable -- that this not be allowed to be something that fades over time," she said.
Another takeaway from the trip, she said, was finding out that while fresh fruit and vegetables can help treat lead poisoning, Flint lacks access to such foods.
The congresswoman said she hopes lawmakers, in addition to looking at mental and physical health supports, will focus on ways to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on providing fresh food at a reasonable cost to the region.
The congressional visit, which was coordinated in part by the Congressional Black Caucus and members of Michigan's Democratic congressional delegation, came just two days before Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders -- who have also taken issue with Snyder's handling of the situation -- are set to debate at Flint's Whiting Auditorium.
So they had to go all the way to Michigan to find a bad water system?? The Water People had better pray for some help from the State, to get the tank built, because if you have to pay, where is the money coming from ?? How deep does the Water Dept. think your pockets are ??
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