WASHINGTON – Actor and environmental advocate Mark Ruffalo applauded the introduction of sweeping infrastructure legislation introduced by key House committees that would provide $3.5 billion over the next five years to address the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in drinking water and industrial wastewater.
Here is a statement from Ruffalo:
It’s simply wrong that polluters can dump their PFAS wastes on the rest of us. It’s good news that Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, along with other members of their committees, have introduced legislation to provide a combined $3.5 billion in grants to help our community water systems and wastewater treatment plants deal with their toxic mess. This is an important first step. But much more is needed to ensure that we have clean water and that the polluters, not the public, share the cost of cleanup.
The Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021, introduced by Rep. DeFazio (D-Ore.), Subcommittee Chairwoman Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.), and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), establishes a new program to spend $1 billion in grants over five years to municipalities to implement treatment standards for industrial discharges of PFAS.
The LIFT America Act of 2021, introduced by Rep. Pallone (D-N.J.) and all 32 Democrats on the committee, establishes a new program to provide $2.5 billion in grants to help community water systems filter PFAS in drinking water.
The Environmental Working Group has identified at least 2,500 industrial sites that could be discharging PFAS into the air and water or piping PFAS waste to wastewater treatment plants. A peer-reviewed study by EWG scientists estimates that more than 200 million Americans could have PFAS chemicals in their drinking water.
Exposure to very low levels of PFAS chemicals in drinking water is linked to an array of health effects, including cancer, reproductive harms and immune system harms.
###
The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Visit www.ewg.org for more information.
