EDITOR: I am pleased that Congressman Richard Pombo is assisting
us in some measure with perchlorate. The community deserves relief
and this $25 million in proposed assistance is appreciated.
EDITOR:
I am pleased that Congressman Richard Pombo is assisting us in some measure with perchlorate. The community deserves relief and this $25 million in proposed assistance is appreciated.
However, who is actually getting relief is the question. The way I see it, you and I as taxpayers are now paying for this problem. If anyone is getting relief it’s the Olin Corp., which just got the federal government to pay for the mess it created. This is just wrong.
If anything, Congressman Pombo should be funding the EPA to quickly determine safety levels, if any, for human consumption. Sadly, this Congressman also voted to significantly reduce funding for the EPA that would have expedited this and other critical research. We should have increased regulatory oversight and hold corporations like Olin accountable, but why should Olin and others care if the government bails them out and you and I end up footing the bill? This doesn’t make sense.
Locally, our water rates have recently and significantly increased to cover the cost of this problem. Olin executives can not be more pleased with themselves for getting Congressman Pombo and others to pay for damaging our environment and placing our health at risk.
How long are we going to allow this debacle to continue?
Mark Grzan, Morgan Hill
