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Your view: Gov. Wolf needs to resign

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Happy birthday Korben David Culver!

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; State Sen. John Yudichak and other lawmakers are pushing for the creation of a bipartisan task force to investigate the scope of Pennsylvania&#8217;s lead-exposure problem.</p><p>Legislation was re-introduced Tuesday, the same day a report by PennEnvironment Research &amp; Policy Center &#8212; an environmental advocacy organization &#8212; gave Pennsylvania a grade of &#8220;F&#8221; in regards to preventing lead in drinking water in schools.</p><p>Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, is the bill&#8217;s prime sponsor. He said the group will recommend changes to existing laws, regulations, and procedures that will reduce the risk of lead contamination in drinking water.</p><p>Yudichak proposed creating a similar task force during the 2015-2016 legislative session, but he couldn&#8217;t get it &#8220;to the finish line.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We cannot eliminate the threat posed by lead contamination until we know the true extent of the problem in Pennsylvania&#8217;s homes, schools, day care centers, and water-delivery infrastructure,&#8221; Yudichak said. &#8220;Pennsylvanians should never fear for their or their children&#8217;s health when they pour water from the faucet or drink from a water fountain.&#8221;</p><p>Yudichak said the task force will rely on the expertise of medical professionals, agency officials, and industry leaders who combat the dangers of lead contamination every day and are best suited to recommend policies and procedures.</p><p>Yudichak said a state Department of Health report in 2014 found that some areas of Pennsylvania had higher levels of lead in water than were recorded in Flint, Michigan, where a water crisis has drawn national attention.</p><p><strong>Kids &#8216;especially susceptible&#8217;</strong></p><p>Since Luzerne County has many homes, schools and other buildings that were constructed prior to 1978, Yudichak said they could have issues with water pipes.</p><p>&#8220;We need a task force to assess how big the problem is and to tell us what the best practices would be to remedy it and what the cost would be,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We hope to do this through a public/private partnership.&#8221;</p><p>Once all the information is gathered, a report will be issued. Yudichak said he hopes to build a model for the best practices of abatement.</p><p>He is confident the legislation will be approved, citing the broad bipartisan support it has received to date.</p><p>The resolution &#8212; SR 33 &#8212; would also create an advisory committee, reporting to the Joint State Government Commission. The committee would work closely with the Senate task force to complete its review and produce a report detailing its findings and recommendations to the Senate within 18 months.</p><p>The advisory committee will include cabinet secretaries, pediatricians, representatives of water authorities and private companies, maintenance workers in school districts, and the executive director of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania.</p><p>Stephanie Wein of PennEnvironment said schools should be safe places for kids to learn and play, but Pennsylvania is failing to protect them.</p><p>&#8220;Kids&#8217; developing brains are especially susceptible to highly toxic lead, so it&#8217;s time to get the lead out,&#8221; Wein said.</p><p>The report notes that as more Pennsylvania schools from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia take steps to test their water, they are finding lead in more places.</p><p>According to the PennEnvironment report, confirmed cases of lead-laced water are likely just the tip of the iceberg. For example, Wein said when 40 schools were recently tested in Philadelphia, 14 percent exceeded 15ppb, which she said is especially troubling when you consider no level of lead is safe.</p><p>Wein said schools and homes have pipes, plumbing and/or fixtures that leach lead into drinking water. In some cases, she said old service lines &#8212; the pipes that bring water from the mains in the street into buildings &#8212; are made entirely of lead.</p><p>Current state law does nothing to prevent a school&#8217;s drinking water from becoming contaminated.</p><p>&#8220;In Pennsylvania, we have no required testing regimen for school drinking water, no limits on the allowable lead levels and no plan to remove lead infrastructure from our schools,&#8221; Wein said.</p><p><strong>DEP statement</strong></p><p>In an emailed statement, DEP said it appreciates Yudichak&#8217;s leadership on this issue and looks forward to engaging with lawmakers to find solutions to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water.</p><p>Acting DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell has made safe drinking water a top priority of the agency. The DEP has worked with the public water systems it regulates as well as affected municipalities to monitor lead levels, and take action where appropriate.</p><p>Information is available for homeowners who think they may have lead service lines or in-home plumbing at http://www.dep.pa.gov/citizens/my-water/publicdrinkingwater/pages/lead-in-drinking-water.aspx</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Yudichak </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_retreat03CMYK-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Yudichak </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_PennEnvironment-1.jpg">
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Report: PA receives an “F” for lead in school drinking water