Water News
Groups request water test, by Ben Carpenter, 06/22/2008. Published by Today's Sunbeam.
PENNSVILLE TWP. A coalition of environmental and labor groups wants testing of private drinking water wells near the DuPont Co.'s Chambers Works plant here for the possible presence of PFOAs.
The DuPont Accountability Coalition consisting of Delaware Riverkeeper Network, NJ Environmental Federation, United Steelworkers International Union- Local 4-943 which represents workers at the Chambers Works, New Jersey Work Environment Council, South Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, Edison Wetlands Association and the NY/NJ Baykeeper wants wider testing than DuPont is already performing to monitor any PFOA contamination.
"Those whose drinking water comes from private wellshave the right to know if they are drinking PFOA contaminated water," said Jane Nogaki, vice chair of New Jersey Environmental Federation. "Of particular concern are wells serving families with pregnant women and small children."
New Jersey Coalition Calls for Investigation of Private Wells to Protect Families from PFOA in Drinking Water, 06/09/08. www.examiner.com.
DEEPWATER, N.J.--Community groups react to news that DuPont's Teflon chemicals likely contaminate area residential wells. Eight of nine DuPont monitoring wells exceeded New Jersey's 'alert level.'
--Private residential well contamination with PFOA reported by NJDEP.
--Testing demanded of all private drinking water wells and warnings issued to residents in towns adjacent to DuPont because of high levels of PFOA.
A coalition of environmental and labor groups are calling for the testing of private drinking water wells in four towns near DuPont's Chambers Works facility in Deepwater, N.J. They are concerned about the possible presence of the dangerous Teflon chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).
The coalition's call for testing of private wells by DuPont follows the company's disclosure to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) that its groundwater monitoring wells showed contamination levels which exceeded the State of New Jersey's "alert level."
"Those whose drinking water comes from private wells have the right to know if they are drinking PFOA contaminated water," said Jane Nogaki, Vice Chair of NJ Environmental Federation. "Of particular concern are wells serving families with pregnant women and small children," she said noting a study of PFOA contamination of newborns released by Johns Hopkins Medical School in 2007.
DuPont asked to test private wells in NJ, 06/10/08. By Jeff Mongomery. Published in the News Journal.
New Jersey labor and environmental groups called on the DuPont Co. on Monday to test private water wells near the company's Chambers Works, citing new evidence that plant chemicals are reaching groundwater.
Eight of nine DuPont Co. wells on or adjacent to the plant in Deepwater, N.J., contained perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or related compounds above a level that officials set as a trigger for further study.
"Those whose drinking water comes from private wells have the right to know if they are drinking PFOA-contaminated water," said Jane Nogaki, vice chairwoman of NJ Environmental Federation.
DuPont officials could not be reached for comment late Monday.
No easy way to rid water of drug tracesby John Chadwick, 05/04/08. Published by the Bergen Record.
Hearing shines light on report of drugs in drinking water, by Tom Hester, 05/13/08. Published in the Star Ledger.
It is too soon to determine if trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in New Jersey's drinking water will affect public health, and studies need to continue to find answers, water quality experts said yesterday.
"This isn't a cause for panic, but it is cause for concern," David Pringle, New Jersey Environmental Federation director, told the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. "But it is a problem that is going to get worse if we continue to develop and reuse water."
The committee held a hearing responding to a five-month investigation by the Associated Press that discovered a wide array of drugs -- including antibiotics, anti-convul sants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- are in the drinking water of at least 41 million Americans in 24 metropolitan areas, including New Jersey.
Scientists don't know whether trace amounts of hundreds of prescription drugs that are in the state's drinking water can harm residents, New Jersey lawmakers were told.
But government agencies and industry groups at a hearing in Trenton this week were also warned that getting rid of the drugs will be a challenge. A state Department of Environmental Protection official said the costs would be enormous if the state tried to develop safe-standard levels for each chemical.
"It is not possible for the department to ... establish a maximum contaminant level for even a subset of these compounds," said Eileen Murphy, director of the Division of Science, Research and Technology for the DEP. "To conduct toxicity studies on one unregulated contaminant present in the drinking water supply in Toms River, it has taken over eight years and $5 million."
An environmental activist, meanwhile, said the pharmaceutical industry needs to take steps of its own.
"They could work a little harder at redesigning their drugs so much more of it is absorbed in the body and doesn't end up in the waste stream," said David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
Environmentalists fault water-quality deal, 04/25/08. By Colleen Diskin. Published by The Record
New Jersey's environmental regulators on Thursday touted two new measures they say will eliminate harmful algae blooms in the Wanaque Reservoir by cutting back on the phosphorus that runs off or is discharged into Passaic River basin waters.
But activists belittled the efforts as falling far short of what's needed to cure what they consider North Jersey's most troublesome water-quality problem.
The rule, if approved as expected by federal regulators, sets a 0.4 milligrams per liter standard for phosphorus discharged in the Passaic water basin region. The limit for other so-called "impaired waterways" in the state is 0.1 milligrams per liter, environmentalists point out.
Regulators, environmentalists and sewer plant operators have been debating for years what the standard should be for the Passaic River basin.
David Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, accused the DEP of setting too high a limit to appease sewer plant operators.
Senators push EPA for safer water, 4/16/2008. By Herb Jackson. Published by Bergen Record.
Democratic senators sharply criticized the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday for not moving fast enough to protect the public in the wake of revelations about trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in water supplies across the country.
There was little agreement about the dangers to the public — and no action taken — at a Senate water quality subcommittee hearing called in response to a March report by The Associated Press. That report found traces of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones in the water supplies of 41 million Americans, including 850,000 in North Jersey.
Lautenberg, D-N.J., led the hearing and cited an Environmental Working Group study that found hundreds of chemicals besides drugs, including components of rocket fuel, gasoline additives and pesticides, are getting into water systems because EPA is not regulating them.
Lautenberg called for reversing EPA budget cuts to fund water monitoring programs proposed by President Bush and increasing funding for water treatment and sewage treatment plants.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chided Grumble for saying the EPA needed more time for studies when it was not complying with a 1996 law that required it to develop guidelines for dealing with the risks posed by hormones in water systems.
David Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said water treatment is still a "Victorian era" process and new methods are needed, especially since industries — including pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey — are now sending their waste to plants built to handle primarily human waste.
"Just because we haven't documented the health effects doesn't mean they're not there," Pringle said.
N.J. activist to tell Senate about drugs in our water. By Jim Wright, 4/15/08. Published by The Record.
The Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security and Water Quality, headed by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., will hold a hearing on the issue today. It is a particular concern in North Jersey, where the drugs have seeped into the water supply after they pass through the bodies of people who take them. Water treatment plants have no way to remove the drugs.
David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation is scheduled to testify at the hearing.
Pharmaceuticals in our water is a very complex problem and there's no magic bullet. It's going to be a series of solutions. We need to treat our water better. We need to reform the pharmaceutical development process. And we need to develop some sort of take-back system rather than flushing pills down the drain.
Feds Not Addressing Drugs in Water By Martha Mendoza, 4/14/08. Originally published by Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House task force that was supposed to devise a federal plan to research the issue of pharmaceuticals in drinking water has missed its deadline and failed to produce mandated reports and recommendations for coordination among numerous federal agencies, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
More than 70 pages of the task force's documents, including e-mails and weekly reports, were released under the Freedom of Information Act as a Senate subcommittee prepares to convene a hearing Tuesday prompted by an AP investigation about trace concentrations of drugs in America's drinking water.
Clean Water Action's New Jersey campaign Director David Pringle, slated to testify at the hearing, said he plans to tell the senators that "while it's not time to panic, it's a time of concern and we need to take action."
Pringle said existing regulations are not being used and that federal officials have known for years there are problems. "They've clearly been dragging their feet," he said.
Removal of drugs in water gets test in S.J.. By Richard Pearsall, 03/16/08. Published by Courier-Post.
Drinking water across the country is laced with tiny amounts of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, an investigative team for the Associated Press reported last week.
That's reason for concern, say environmental and regulatory officials in New Jersey, but not panic.
There is no evidence of any harmful impact, as yet, and New Jersey is in the forefront of efforts to identify and treat new kinds of contaminants.
Rutgers has pioneered the testing techniques that make discovery of pharmaceutical traces in water possible, David Pringle, of the New Jersey Environmental Federation said.
And the DEP "has been leading the way in conducting pilot programs to remove contaminates from drinking water," he added.
One of those pilot programs is being carried out in the Merchantville/Pennsauken water district.
Now in the design stage, the pilot system will use a "granular activated carbon" filter to remove contaminants once it is up and running, according to Barker Hamill, the chief of the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water for the DEP.
Polar Bears take chilly dip for conservation, 1/5/2008. Published by News 12 New Jersey
ASBURY PARK - About 80 swimmers turned out Saturday for the annual Polar Bear Plunge in Asbury Park.
The daring swimmers braved 39 degree waters for the exhilarating dip.
Though some spectators called the participants crazy, event organizers say the swim was for a good cause. Proceeds from the event are being donated to Clean Water Action to protect New Jersey’s water and open spaces.
New Jersey drinking water running out. Supplies won't meet projected needs by 2020.
By Tom Baldwin, 10/24/07. Originally published in the Asbury Park Press
TRENTON — New Jersey officials heard sobering news Tuesday that the state is running out of drinking water, but environmentalists said the bigger problem is the government is not doing anything about it.
"This is not a problem we have in the future. This is a problem we have today," said Joseph Maraziti, a former chairman of the State Planning Commission, addressing the state Clean Water Council's annual public hearing.
"We have a gross underinvestment in infrastructure," Maraziti said, noting the crisis might strike by 2020, not long after today's first-graders graduate from high school.
Platt foresees faster population growth in New Jersey than the Census Bureau, which projects the state will have nearly 9.5 million residents in 2020. It wouldn't reach 9.8 million residents until 2030, under those 2005 federal projections.
As if they were symbols of the problem, plastic-wrapped cases of bottled water rested on a table at one side of the room, though participants could have sated their thirsts at the drinking fountains out in the hall.
Environmentalists such as Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club, coupled with David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said they have heard these forecasts with annual regularity, but they see no action by Trenton.
"It's the same message year in and year out," said Pringle. "Nothing changes. Are they going to get it this time? Our water supply is getting increasingly polluted, and the state doesn't have the policies in place to address that."
"The state actually has policies that undermine clean water," said Tittel, such as spending $250 million in tax dollars to build a golf course on the Meadowlands instead of fixing Paterson's piping so rain-driven sewage does not spill into nearby streams.
Environmentalists want DEP rules to cover more rivers and land, by Tom Hester, Star Ledger, 6/28/07
New Jersey environmental activists said yesterday they want to see more rivers and land protected under what they describe as long-overdue water quality management rules proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
While praising segments of the plan, the activists like Jeff Tittle, director of the Sierra Club of New Jersey, said they are concerned there are many loopholes that will enable environmentally unsound development.
"The rules will, both directly and indirectly, determine how much development will take place and where," he said, "how much water will be polluted, and how much water will be protected, making them more significant in terms of their impact on New Jersey than virtually and other rule or proposal."
Dave Pringle, a coordinator for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said environmentalists have been pushing for the water protection standards for 15 years and watched five earlier attempts to create them fail.
Pringle praised the DEP's decision to prevent the installation of sewer lines -- an action that leads to development -- on 300,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land in sections of Somerset and Hunterdon counties, the Pinelands, northern Ocean County, western Monmouth County, and Gloucester County.
But Pringle was critical of the decision to allow sewers on plots of environmentally sensitive land that are 25 acres or less. He said the proposal puts 75,000 acres in danger of being lost to development statewide...
Plant hit for use of chlorine, May 28, 2007, By Jim Wright, The Record
A major water-treatment plant in West Milford still uses large amounts of chlorine, even though hundreds of plants statewide have stopped using the lethal chemical because of safety and security concerns.
The state has been discouraging the use of chlorine and other toxic chemicals since the mid-1980s, when a chemical release in Bhopal, India, killed more than 7,000 people.
There is even more concern about chlorine now because chlorine gas is becoming an increasingly common weapon for insurgents in Iraq. In the past week, two attacks in Iraq using "dirty" chlorine bombs have killed five and sickened more than 200.
Chlorine is deadly at high concentrations, and its vapors can irritate the lungs and burn the eyes and skin.
Because of those safety hazards, the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission is in the process of changing from chlorine to sodium hypochlorite, a much safer bleach. The transition should be finished in four months, at a cost of roughly $2 million.
Jane Nogaki of the New Jersey Environmental Federation said safety concerns were why her group has been urging water-treatment and wastewater-treatment plants to phase out chlorine.
"An accidental [chlorine] release happens during rush hour in the morning or evening, and thousands of people could be impacted," Nogaki said. "They don't really have a way to escape it. It enclouds an area, and it's difficult to outrun it -- particularly if you're in stop-and-go traffic on Route 23."
More to be done, activist says after getting award, May 5, 2007, By Richard Pearsall, Courier-Post
A Camden activist has been honored by the New Jersey Environmental Federation for sounding the alarm on various environmental problems, particularly in the city.
"Thanks to the efforts of Mangaliso Davis to draw attention to issues of drinking water contamination and open space, the health of New Jersey residents and the environment are being better protected," Sharon Finlayson, the chairwoman of the state federation, said in presenting Davis the award at a recent conference.
Davis has made a particular issue of the water supply in Camden, where problems with lead and other contaminants have been found, and more recently has been active in urging the state to accept Petty's Island as open space rather than permit it to be developed.
State environmental officials announced two proposals Monday aimed at protecting drinking water, including a significant expansion of restrictions on building near waterways and reservoirs.
Speaking at the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed, Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson announced plans to increase the number of protective buffer zones for waterways used to supply drinking water. Over 900 miles of waterways and 1,300 acres of reservoirs would receive Category 1 protection -- prohibiting development up to 300 feet from the water. Today 300 miles of waterways have such protection.
Environmentalists have long fought for protections to be expanded, especially in South Jersey. Dave Pringle, campaign director for New Jersey Environmental Federation, said many southern waterways were ignored because past buffer zone regulations where based on the location of trout, who reside in northern parts of the state.
New measures curb development near waterways, Associated Press, 04/24/2007
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Environmentalists are praising a package of new measures announced by the Department of Environmental Protection that would restrict development near hundreds of miles of rivers and streams in a move to protect water quality.
The measures, announced Monday by DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, would give special status — known as Category One — to more than 900 miles along 15 major waterways.
The special status means development is almost entirely banned within a 300-foot buffer along designated creeks, rivers, streams and reservoirs.
David Pringle from the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said this rule is important because, as developers rely more and more on septic systems in building houses, the systems are being placed too close together and groundwater is being contaminated.
Deliverance, By Angela Santoriello, Ocean County Observer, 04/25/07TOMS RIVER — The Toms River isn't very wide as it meanders through Winding River Park, congested with roots and trees that line its river banks.
Yesterday, however, its banks were filled with environmentalists and local activists, who came to cheer the state's decision to give the river a Category One designation, which would provide a 300-foot buffer zone designed to protect pristine waterways.
The announcement to have portions of Toms River designated as a Category One waterway came after seven environmental groups petitioned the DEP in November for Toms River to receive a Category One designation. Though the petition was denied, the DEP incorporated 51 miles of Category One protection into a statewide waterway preservation plan.
Peggi Sturmfels, spokesperson for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said with 7,500 homes "on the dock in Jackson" in the next five years, it is important for people to stay active in the process.
Arbiter rules for Delaware in BP case, Jeff Montgomery, Gannett, 04/14/07
A special master appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday Delaware's jurisdiction over the Delaware River basin extends to the New Jersey shore, spelling likely defeat for a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal.
Special Master Ralph I. Lancaster ruled "as the sovereign owner" of the Delaware River bottom, that Delaware can regulate and police developments extending from New Jersey's shoreline.
New Jersey officials said they would bring their argument to the high court, which has final say in the matter, although the court relies heavily on the recommendations of its special masters.
Jane Nogaki, South Jersey spokeswoman for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said BP's plan represented too much of a risk and too great an environmental disruption.
"The judge's affirmation of Delaware's right to say 'No' to this application serves the interests of New Jersey residents as well as Delaware's," Nogaki said. "We think that the terminal is too dangerous to be located on shore, 50 miles up the river in a densely populated area."
Nogaki said the recommendation "doesn't mean that port activity can't occur in the river." Instead, the finding involved Delaware's exercise of restrictions on industrial development.
Did N.J. supplier endanger our water? Bergen Record, 02/09/07
Bergen County's largest water supplier likely broke the law by allowing developers and private homeowners to use land meant to protect its reservoirs, two top state officials said on Thursday.A state panel held off, however, on fining United Water Resources or forcing the company to revoke its land deals. Instead, it told the utility to settle with environmentalists who say those deals put the water supply in jeopardy.
New Jersey's Watershed Protection and Moratorium Act requires state approval before utilities can let their land be used for anything other than water protection, activists said.
"There have been repeated, significant violations by United Water," David Pringle, a lobbyist with the New Jersey Environmental Federation, told the board. "You'll be sending very much the wrong message if the act isn't enforced."
Broader Buffers Sought On River, Asbury Park Press, 01/19/07
TOMS RIVER — Fifteen miles upriver from its yacht clubs and rumbling motor yachts, the Toms River is so narrow one can jump across in some spots. Flowing from its headwaters in Millstone Township and Jackson, the river drains 25 percent of the land area adjacent to Barnegat Bay — carrying with it all the pollution of a burgeoning population, scientists say.So Thursday night, environmental activists framed their arguments for having the state declare the Toms River a Category 1 stream to provide it with special protections, such as 300-foot buffer areas on either side of the river and its major tributaries, where land clearing and building would be banned.
Peg Sturmfels of the New Jersey Environmental Federation said supporters want to win over local municipal officials also, from township environmental commissions to mayors and planning boards. "We want these 300-foot buffers. This can't be negotiable," she said...
It's a drug - with potentially harmful side effects, Philadelphia Inquirer, 06/03/05
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists it as a "hazard." The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry warns that high levels of exposure can harm your health. It is used to treat human health but remains largely untested by the Food and Drug Administration...Vote against mandate for fluoridated water (Letter to the Editor), Asbury Park Press, 05/20/06
Other common products contain alarming levels of fluoride, but they are not required to provide this information on the label. If a soda bottling plant uses fluoridated water, the soda can contain up to 1.12 milligrams per liter. Why aren't companies using fluoridated water required to put that on the label, since fluoride is considered a poison?...Adding fluoride to water may post health risks, Asbury Park Press, 05/12/06
Scary news travels fast. Within weeks after the prestigious National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a study citing adverse health effects of fluoride in water supplies, Hightstown Borough’s Board of Health introduced a draft recommendation to the Hightstown Borough Council supporting a ban on water fluoridation...
