Washington, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today announced that New Jersey will receive $168,949,000 from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress passed and which was signed into law last month to clean up drinking water contamination and improve the state’s water infrastructure. This funding is provided through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) State Revolving Fund (SRF) and will create jobs while upgrading aging water infrastructure and addressing lead and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Jersey’s drinking water.
“Funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law is already making its way to New Jersey. Safe drinking water is a basic human right, yet right now millions of American families cannot trust the water coming out of their taps. That’s why I fought to ensure that the bipartisan infrastructure law provided significant funding to remove toxic lead service lines and address PFAS contamination,” Pallone said. “New Jersey has some of the highest levels of PFAS contamination in the country. While the state is working to address this public health threat by adopting protective state drinking water standards and pursuing natural resource damage cases, I’ve led efforts in Congress to address these toxic chemicals and ensure that everyone can trust the water coming out of the tap.”
As Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Pallone ensured enactment of key provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure bill for drinking water infrastructure, including $15 billion for the replacement of lead water lines and $10 billion to address PFAS contamination. He also ensured the Build Back Better Act – recently passed by the House – included $10 billion in additional funding for lead contamination in drinking water. Pallone also spearheaded House passage of the PFAS Action Act last summer which - among other things - would establish a drinking water standard for PFAS, a grant program to support community water systems, and cleanup of contaminated sites.
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