Rush asks EPA to expand its investigation of contaminated drinking water in Crestwood to include possibly strengthening current mandates

CHICAGO -- Today, U. S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush released a letter he sent on Tuesday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that both applauded her agency's prompt leadership in launching a federal investigation into the contaminated drinking water in the Village of Crestwood while also calling on her office to expand the scope of its investigation to determine whether or not key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act should be strengthened.  Specifically, Rush's concerns extend both to existing federal standards for acceptable levels of chemical contaminants as well as rules surrounding when the public should be notified when evidence of contamination has been found.

"One of the key questions I had during this process was whether or not failure to alert the public was criminal.  If it wasn't, I believe it should be," said Rush who has been a local and national leader on environmental protection issues for decades.

"I've spoken to hundreds of my constituents in the Village of Crestwood who've told me, first hand, how members of their families and others in their neighborhoods have suffered from what they believe to be undue incidents of cancer and other diseases. Most of these people believe their ailments are tied to Crestwood's contaminated drinking water.  This is obscene behavior that should not occur in a country with the scientific talent we can bring to bear.  My staff and I are working tirelessly to get to the bottom of what took place in Crestwood, when and how.  My goal is to ensure that justice is served and that it never happens again."

On May 9, less than three weeks from the day that initial news reports on this issue were published in Chicago, Congressman Rush convened a town hall meeting where he heard, first hand, from more than 600 residents who expressed outrage and fear about the impact of ingesting drinking water on the health of themselves and their families.  Earlier, on April 20, Rush sent a letter to Administrator Jackson calling upon the EPA to launch a federal investigation into this matter brought to the public's attention, in large part, as a result of courageous Crestwood resident and mother, Tricia Krause.

A copy of this week's letter to the EPA is attached.

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