Pa. congressmen call for tougher water standards

Standing outside a Montgomery County military base where chemicals from firefighting foam has contaminated public drinking water, two local congressmen made a bipartisan appeal Monday for stricter drinking-water regulations.

"Residents are understandably concerned these chemicals are to blame for their health concerns," said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.).

Boyle traveled Monday to Naval Air Station Willow Grove with Republican Rep. Patrick Meehan to apply public pressure to the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize new standards for safe levels of chemicals in drinking water.

Meehan said that while the EPA has set regulations on short-term exposure to the chemicals found in the drinking water around the base, it also must explore the effects of long-term exposure.

"We could have had four decades of exposure here," Meehan said.

Water contamination from elevated levels of perfluorinated compounds were discovered in 2014 in Warminster and Horsham, forcing the closure of public drinking wells and residents' private wells. Redevelopment of the Willow Grove base also has been delayed as local and federal officials address the water contamination.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate was commonly used in firefighting foams at Willow Grove and at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster, and has been linked to cancer and reproductive issues.

Boyle called on EPA officials to do more. "First, they should immediately finalize the updated stricter advisory levels that take into account lifetime exposure."

Boyle said he expects the EPA to release new advisory levels as early as this week. Meehan said he has concerns about varying standards; he said the EPA appeared to use a lower level of acceptable contamination levels of the same chemical in New York than was used as the baseline in the Philadelphia area.

The congressmen have also sent a letter to the EPA expressing the concerns, and have pushed the Navy for a timeline of the discovery of water contamination.