Letter to the Hon. Andrew Wheeler, Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - With PFAS Chemicals Still Contaminating Water Supplies In Communities Across New York, Gillibrand Calls On EPA To Hold Community Engagement Meeting To Hear Directly From New Yorkers, Include Their Input In Federal PFAS Cleanup Plan

Letter

August 24, 2018

The Honorable Andrew Wheeler

Acting Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20004

Dear Acting Administrator Wheeler:

I write to request that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hold a per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Community Engagement Meeting for the state of New York. As the EPA continues to meet with communities affected by these harmful contaminants, I hope you will arrange a meeting to hear directly from New Yorkers.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of toxic chemicals affecting communities across the nation. These chemical substances are linked to certain cancers and other serious adverse health effects. They are often used to manufacture products like fabric protectors, firefighting foam, and stain repellents due to rigorous chemical properties that also make them persistent in the environment and resistant to degradation.

I am encouraged by the EPA's continued attention to PFAS contamination issues and the harmful human health impacts it causes. At EPA's PFAS National Leadership Summit and Engagement this past May, participants worked together to identify necessary next steps in addressing the problems caused by PFAS contamination. Among other recommendations and information provided at the PFAS National Leadership Summit, the EPA announced it would conduct site visits to affected areas to inform the development of a PFAS Management Plan for release later this year. As the EPA drafts this plan, it is imperative to engage all relevant stakeholders. PFAS contamination has harmed communities throughout New York -- including in the City of Newburgh, Westhampton Beach, and Hoosick Falls -- and the residents who have suffered deserve to be heard so that the EPA can work with expediency to remediate and clean up this threat to public health.

The EPA has already conducted PFAS Community Engagement Meetings in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and North Carolina. New York has been significantly impacted by the presence of PFAS in drinking water and should be included as part of the EPA's public engagement efforts concerning the PFAS Management Plan.

I look forward to continuing to work with EPA to keep our environment clean and our water safe to drink. If there are any questions or concerns, please contact my staff.

Thank you,

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