Delgado Introduces Hoosick Falls Community Leader Michael Hickey Before Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Statement

This afternoon, U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) introduced Hoosick Falls resident and his guest to the State of the Union, Michael Hickey prior to his testimony at a House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee Hearing on the administration's actions with regard to the Clean Water Act. Hickey discovered elevated levels of PFOA chemicals in his community's water supply after his father passed away from cancer, and brought to light the water contamination crisis we know today. Below is a video of Congressman Delgado's introduction and a transcript of his remarks.

"It is a great honor for me to introduce Mr. Michael Hickey, a good friend of mine at this point, and not just a constituent but a real friend.

"Michael is from Hoosick Falls, New York in Rensselaer County, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for following a discovery he made after the death of his father in 2013.

"When Michael's father passed away from cancer, he began to look into connections between cancer and the chemicals used in a local manufacturing facility where his father worked.

"This would eventually lead to the discovery that there was a higher incidence of illnesses related to PFAS chemicals, and extremely unsafe levels of these chemicals in the village of Hoosick Falls as well as the village of Petersburgh's drinking water. But Michael's advocacy did not stop there--he turned the memory of his father into a force for good and non-stop public advocacy.

"Since 2013, Michael has been leading the charge to increase transparency and accountability for PFAS chemicals at the local, state, and federal level. And his work led to New York State designating the village as a Superfund site, and the EPA declaring one of the manufacturing facilities in Hoosick Falls a Superfund site.

"Michael's groundbreaking advocacy has contributed immensely to our understanding of PFAS contamination in New York, and it is largely due to him that the community has received funding for blood testing, remediation, and is no longer drinking the water that was poisoning them.

"Michael is a true hero in what he has done to spur action on this issue, and I have been proud to work with him to call for federal regulation on these chemicals, including my bipartisan PFAS Right-to-Know Act that would add PFAS chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory, and he joined me at my town hall in his home town of Hoosick Falls that focused on water contamination and our work to hold those contaminating the water accountable.

"Additionally, I was honored to have him join me for the State of the Union. Our message then is our message today: the PFAS crisis is urgent, prevalent, and not going away. The Administration must step up its efforts to protect the health and safety of communities in Upstate New York and across the country.

"I look forward to hearing Michael's testimony today and I appreciate the work of this committee to continue to shed light the prevalence of toxic PFAS chemical in our communities.

"I also look forward to continuing my work with Michael, the Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh communities, and members of the Committee to address the needs of all Upstate residents who deserve drinking water that is free of cancer-causing chemicals.

"Just lastly, I don't often get emotional, Chairwoman, but my exchange with Mr. Ross and his lack of desire to commit to an MCL [Maximum Contaminate Level], and the fact that I was bothered to the degree that I was, in many respects, has to do with how connected I feel to Mr. Hickey, and the community in Hoosick Falls. This is real lives, real people, not just numbers. Thank you."

Congressman Delgado has made addressing PFAS contamination a focus of his work in Congress. In the spring, Rep. Delgado led House introduction of H.R. 2577 the PFAS Right-to-Know Act, bipartisan legislation that would require PFAS chemicals to be listed on TRI at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Rep. Delgado has also focused on hearing from affected communities, and held a town hall in Hoosick Falls, NY to hear from folks about the prevalence of PFAS in their communities. Additionally, Rep. Delgado continues his work as active Member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Address PFAS/PFOA.

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