“I don’t have a choice. This is the only option I have.”
Developments on Day 267 of the Trump Administration:
See Trump Campaign Manager’s $60 Million Connection to Kremlin-Linked Billionaire
Podcasts: Trump Declares All-Out Confrontation with Iran
Amid Trump Threats to Withdraw Aid, Puerto Ricans Desperate for Water
More than three weeks after Hurricane Maria, some Puerto Ricans are getting their water from a hazardous waste site.
With more than 35% of the island’s people lacking access to drinking water, unsuspecting residents are filling plastic jugs with supplies pumped from the site.
Told of the risky provision, Jose Luis Rodriguez, 66, said, “I don’t have a choice. This is the only option I have.”
The water is being distributed from a well at the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Site, listed in 2016 in the federal Superfund program for hazardous waste cleanup. The Environmental Protection Agency said the area was polluted with industrial chemicals, including tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, which “can have serious health impacts including damage to the liver and increasing the risk of cancer”.
The EPA said it plans to do testing in the area over the weekend:
While some of these wells are sometimes used to provide drinking water, the EPA is concerned that people could be drinking water that may be contaminated, depending on the well. We are mindful of the paramount job of protecting people’s health, balanced with people’s basic need for water.
THe local Puerto Rican water authority said it was unaware that the well was part of the Superfund program until CNN provided map.
The authority’s sub-director Luis Melendez maintained the water is fit for public consumption.
Almost 85% of Puerto Ricans have no power, 45% have no telecommunications, and there are shortages of food and other essentials.
Frustrated that he is not received credit for his claims of “success”, Donald Trump warned on Thursday that the federal government will not guarantee assistance “forever”. He blamed local officials — especially San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, whom he has assailed for more than two weeks — for difficulties.
See TrumpWatch, Day 266: Trump to Puerto Rico — We’re Leaving
18 States and DC Sue Trump Administration Over Gutting of ObamaCare
Eighteen States and Washington D.C. have filed a lawsuit to stop Donald Trump from sabotaging ObamaCare through the removal of subsidies to insurers covering low-income consumers.
The complaint in federal court in California seeks a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction to require the cost-sharing reduction payments.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman tweeted:
NOW LIVE: I'm announcing a new lawsuit to protect NYers' & all Americans' access to quality, affordable healthcare: https://t.co/6BBDxNihUP pic.twitter.com/HeXXAXJYd8
— Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) October 13, 2017