The Advocacy Group is working with the Biden administration to provide safe drinking water in Benton Harbor, a low-income, predominantly black city in southwestern Michigan.
In a petition filed with the US Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, about 20 organizations said local and state officials had not responded appropriately or promptly since the pollution was discovered three years ago.
Rev. Edward Pinkney, Chairman of the Benton Harbor Community Water Council, said:
EPA spokesman Tim Carroll said Friday that he was “carefully considering the issues and concerns” raised in the petition.
“We are closely monitoring lead-related health issues in Benton Harbor,” said Carroll, who participated in talks with the EPA when considering changes to federal lead and copper regulations by the Trump administration. Added that it is one of the communities of.
A petition was filed the day after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer asked Benton Harbor to spend $ 20 million to replace nearly 6,000 service lines (most suspected of containing lead) within five years. ..
The funding is part of a $ 200 million expansion of Whitmer’s $ 500 million initiative last year, with Flint, another mostly black city in 2014, nationwide for lead-contaminated water. Upgrade your water and sewerage infrastructure in the iconic state.
The Michigan Department of Environment and Great Lakes Energy has “worked hard” with Benton Harbor to reduce lead pollution, spokesman Scott Dean said Friday. He said free water purifiers have been available since 2019.
He said the city introduced technology to reduce pipe corrosion two years ago and the state helped Benton Harbor raise $ 5.6 million in EPA funding to improve corrosion control.
At the request of the state, Benton Harbor has doubled the number of homes where water is sampled and is testing them more often, Dean said.
Pinkney praised Whitmer for additional funding, but said Benton Harbor was facing an “emergency”.
According to the petition, repeated measurements in recent years have detected lead levels well above the federal threshold of 15 ppb for action.
City and state actions, including anti-corrosion measures, are under-implemented and ineffective. It says that too few locals are aware of water issues and lack information on how to get and use free filters.
The petition requires the EPA to take various steps. Urgently notify Benton Harbor customers not to drink unfiltered water from the city’s system. Free alternative drinking water sources such as bottled water and mobile tanks. A courier that explains how to use the filter.
“It’s a simple matter of law and justice that people at Benton Harbor deserve safe water, regardless of race or income,” said Nick Leonard, Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center.
The petition argues that the situation at Benton Harbor could be worse than the situation at Clarksburg, West Virginia. In West Virginia, the EPA issued an urgent order in July due to the high lead content in the water.
“Clarksburg has a white population of 92%, but Benton Harbor has a population of about 90%,” the petition said.
Group seeks federal support using lead in waters of Michigan City | WGN Radio 720
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