Bill would gag health officials about contaminated wells [View all]

RALEIGH — A bill before the General Assembly would prevent state health officials from warning homeowners not to drink their well water unless the contaminants in the water violated specific state or federal standards.

Earlier this year, the state rescinded hundreds of well-water warnings from the Department of Health and Human Services to residents near coal-ash sites after officials from the Department of Environmental Quality criticized the warnings as over-cautious.

The proposed law would bar health officials from warning residents about the presence of substances that aren’t regulated or warning about regulated substances present at levels lower than state and federal standards, even if state officials think those lower levels represent a potential health threat.

Two of the three co-chairs of the state’s Environmental Review Commission, Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, and Sen. Trudy Wade, R-Guilford, are among the bill’s sponsors.

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http://carolinapublicpress.org/24791/bill-would-gag-health-officials-about-contaminated-wells

Don't drink the water