Murphy Needs to Lead More on Lead- Quicker Action

Today Gov. Phil Murphy spoke at a press conference on a “comprehensive strategy” on lead contamination in New Jersey. Murphy unveiled the plan alongside a group called Jersey Water Works, which will release its own set of recommendations on how to address lead in water. Murphy mentioned a $500 million bond act for funding repairs and improvements to mitigate lead in our drinking water, Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club released the following statement:

“We heard today from Governor Murphy the same thing we’ve heard before on lead. We have been hearing about getting rid of lead lines and lead pipes for over 20 years. There have been previous reports on lead mitigation, what makes this any different? Governor Murphy failed to address the urgency of New Jersey’s lead crisis.

“Today press conference shows what we though all along, that Jersey Water Works report gives Murphy cover for his inaction on lead since he has been governor. The report is the same proposal we have seen for years. The administration is outsourcing the lead issue to private utilities and others instead of taking on the issue themselves and coming up with a plan for funding for removing lead in our drinking water.

 “We have talked about bonding in the past. The $500 million bond act is another proposal, however it will not be on the ballot until 2020, which means by 2021 it won’t be ready or the treasurer might not release the bonds, which is what is happening to the $100 million bond act for schools which hasn’t been spent. A bond is more expensive compared to funding mechanisms like pay as you go. The $500 million is a down payment that may help mitigate our lead crisis, but it is not enough to deal with PFOA, TCE, and other harmful pollutants in our drinking water.

“Governor Murphy is calling a stakeholder process with all kinds of people to address it, but he has failed to address that it’s the governor’s responsibility to protect the public and the environment. We need to the governor to act and do his job. We have had 30 years of inaction, we don’t need delays, the time for talk is over, we need action now. Governor Murphy’s statement today is what we have heard before, the question is what is the administration going to do about the modest proposals?

“We have known that the biggest problem for dealing with lead in our water is coming up with the funding. It’s $2.3 billion to get rid of lead lines and $8 billion overall to fix the water systems. Governor Murphy is hiding behind private companies and businesses while children are drinking poison. Instead, Murphy needs to show leadership on the lead crisis. We are concerned however, that today Murphy did not have an answer to how much it would cost or whether utilities would have to raise rates.

“The administration responded that they need to use the best science and research for creating stricter lead standards in our drinking water. However, the Drinking Water Quality institute hasn’t meet for a year. In urban areas of Newark, the private well testing standard for lead is 15ppb. However, in richer, rural areas like Mendham, the standard is 5ppb. Science shows there is no safe level of lead, which is why the DEP should be lowering the standard in all areas of New Jersey, both rich and poor, at 5ppb. The EPA announced today that areas at 10ppb should start planning to mitigate lead in drinking water, in New Jersey, our planning level is still at 15ppb.

“The “comprehensive plan” fails to address cleaning up and protecting our drinking water. There is nothing in the report about cleaning up source water, getting the chlorides, salt, and other pollution out the create the lead from pipes to leach into our water. There are no controls on how to mitigate these problems, such as better water filtration. The report does not take a holistic approach to dealing with lead, such as cleaning up lead in soil, lead paint in homes, lead from incinerators and more.

“Murphy’s statement today on the lead report does not get to the heart of fixing New Jersey’s lead crisis. Instead, it will bring more delay and inaction like we have seen for the last 3 decades. Governor Murphy needs to work with legislators on passing the dozens of lead protection bills stuck in the statehouse. We need to tackle the tough decisions on fixing our lead problems. We need action now because the more time that goes on, the longer our children in New Jersey schools are drinking dangerously lead contaminated water.”