A Labor Hero

The following is from Congressman Rush Holt's newsletter

When Mary T. Norton was elected to Congress in 1925 from New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, she was only the fifth woman elected to the House, and the first female Democrat.  She was the first of only two women to represent the 12th District. (Florence Dwyer was the second.) Altogether only five women have represented New Jersey in Congress. In her congressional career, “Battling Mary” served as chair of four committees, most notably the House Committee on Labor from 1937 to 1946, where she helped enact the groundbreaking Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 – which established the 40-hour work week, outlawed child labor, and established the first federal minimum wage – and fought for equal pay for women. That struggle for fair wages and equal pay for equal work continues.

White House Report on Antibiotics

Recently the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released its report on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance, a problem of growing concern to the medical and scientific community. Since the onset of widespread use of antibiotics in the 1940’s many infections that were often fatal are simply cured. In recent years, though, doctors and researchers have seen a trend: bacteria develop resistances to these lifesaving antibiotics, and people die as a result. 

Recently, the number of bacteria that are resistant to some - or in a few cases all - of the commercially available antibiotics has risen. There is a troubling trend of overuse by both the medical and agricultural community, which has further exacerbated the issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 50 percent of prescribed antibiotics in the U.S. are at best not optimally prescribed, or at worst not needed at all. In addition, the overuse of antibiotics in the agricultural community has led to an additional spike in antibiotic resistant bacteria, which harm human health.

Bacteria continually evolve so we must invest in research for new antibiotics. However, to exacerbate the risk to humans by selecting for resistant strains through overuse of antibiotics is irresponsible. The PCAST report brings attention to the deadly seriousness of the problem, and the report contains numerous recommendations about such things as detection of resistant bacteria and more research, although I think the report could have been stronger in condemning the overuse.

My Mailbag

I like to share with you occasionally some of the letters, emails, and phone calls I receive about various issues. It may be instructive to know the huge range of concerns of your neighbors in the 12th District. Here are several communications:

Roslyn from Monroe wrote about the recent Supreme Court ruling on Hobby Lobby, and expressed her concern that the ruling opened the door for private companies to use religion to discriminate against female workers and dependents. I let Roslyn know that I am a cosponsor of legislation that would override the Supreme Court’s decision and reinstate the right to contraceptive coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act – for all women, regardless of where they work.

Gertrude from Hopewell e-mailed to support the EPA’s proposal to protect clean water by closing polluter loopholes that have left drinking water for more than 1 in 3 Americans at risk. I wrote back to let Gertrude know of my support for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Clean Water Rule, which will identify and protect interconnected wetlands and streams vital for downstream communities.

John in Hightstown wrote that the granting of US citizenship to children born in the US to foreign nationals is more generous than the practice in some other countries and should be stopped. I pointed to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and said there seems to be no ambiguity that children born here are citizens. Furthermore, to deny them the valuable opportunity to take part fully in the opportunities and obligations of our country would deprive those who have done nothing wrong themselves, and would even punish ourselves by creating a more restrictive society.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress

Federal Fracking Panel Responds to Growing Backlash Against Polluting, Destructive Practice: Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenona

August 11,2011

WASHINGTON - “Today, the Shale Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board released its recommendations regarding the regulation of U.S. shale gas production. With six out of seven of the subcommittee’s members having direct financial ties to the natural gas industry, their recommendations will not go nearly far enough in protecting consumers and the environment from the risks associated with shale gas obtained through the process of hydraulic fracturing. The report does outline the major environmental and public health issues associated with shale gas drilling.

“While the natural gas industry has advocated for, and has been granted exemptions from key environmental regulations, it has racked up countless violations of the rules that do apply to them, and has been questioned about the validity of their gas production forecasts. Yet the subcommittee nonetheless suggests that natural gas producers should play a large role in ensuring that hydraulic fracturing operations do not endanger consumers or natural resources by providing the public information about shale gas production and adopting industry-wide ‘best practices.’

“Just last week The New York Times reported that players within the natural gas industry helped bury evidence produced by the Environmental Protection Agency that hydraulic fracturing had, contrary to industry claims, contaminated drinking water supplies. How can we trust the industry to show ‘leadership in improving environmental impact’ when it has actually gone to great lengths to cover up its detrimental impacts to public health and natural resources?

“Much like the hearings it convened in the months leading up to the study, which mainly reflected the views of the natural gas industry and policymakers, this study downplays the concerns of those affected by fracking—communities that have been turned into sacrifice zones at the expense of the natural gas industry’s desire to turn a profit.

“While the report recommends allowing the natural gas industry to create a new national organization to police its own practices, it proposes leaving protection of public health and the environment to ‘each relevant jurisdiction.’ We know that industry has gone to great lengths to influence local governments, and even greater lengths to avoid culpability at a national level. Why should we let the industry police itself while leaving localities to fight for themselves?

“Moreover, we are extremely disappointed that federal involvement in this matter will focus on providing money to the natural gas industry for research and development to help greenwash their practices, rather than removing exemptions from key environmental regulations. The federal government should be taking an active role in protecting consumers and the environment from hydraulic fracturing, not throwing money at a destructive and unprofitable industry.”

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Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

FRACKING POISONS OUR WATER SUPPLY. VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION BY APRIL 15TH!

By guest blogger Linda Baum

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” as it is commonly known, is the process used to extract natural gas from shale rock by fracturing it with high-pressure fluids. Highly toxic chemicals are used in the drilling process, which has devastating effects the environment and human health.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) – a five member board that includes New Jersey – is now accepting public comments on draft gas drilling regulations which have been fast-tracked and could be released soon ahead of the completion of any environmental impact studies! The draft regulations provide for little, if any, oversight of the industry and fail to protect the Delaware River from contamination. One third of New Jersey residents get their water from the Delaware River basin. We need to let regulators know how strongly we object to the contamination of our drinking water, so please add your voice. The public comment deadline is April 15th at 5 p.m. To email your comments directly to the DRBC, go here and click on the “Open for Comment” link on the left. For more information on the DRBC’s draft regulations and what’s wrong with them, click here.

The DRBC is charged with a legal mandate to prevent degradation of the water quality of the Delaware River. The 5 members of the DRBC are the governors of the four basin states -- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware – and a federal representative. John Plonski, one of Governor Christie’s alternates, is pushing for the early release of fracking regulations. And let me remind you, he speaks for the Governor.

So WHY is our water being polluted when the industry insists that gas extraction is done at depths well below the water table? Because contamination occurs when the casings are pulled back up, bringing the chemicals and bacteria with them. Vertical fissures that occur naturally in the earth are another reason. Toxins and microbes at drilling depths seep up through those fissures, and this can’t be controlled. Gas extraction is not an exact science, and so there can be no guarantee of safety. In fact, the high-volume drilling in Pennsylvania has been plagued with problems.

Even without chemical additives, the wastewater from gas extraction would be toxic because naturally-occurring contaminants and radioactive materials – radon, salts, and heavy metals – are brought up from the ground.

Much of the wastewater just sits in large open storage pits at drilling sites, where overflow and run-off occur. If the pits aren’t lined or linings tear, toxins seep directly into the ground. These pits are also a major source of air pollution because the toxins volatize to the air, and then are breathed in or deposited on soil and water. Drilling companies have the option of injecting the collected wastewater back into the ground or shipping it to a publicly owned treatment works, if they can find one to take it. Illegal dumping has already been discovered in other states.

Currently there is no national treatment standard that applies to the wastewater. In fact, there is virtually no regulatory oversight of gas drilling or disposal operations at all, at either the state or federal level. The gas industry is exempted from numerous laws, including the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Superfund law, to name a few.

There are a number of bills that are currently moving through Congress. One is the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act (H.R. 1084, S. 587). The FRAC Act would bring the hydrofracking industry under the purview of the EPA. New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt was among the first to support the bill.

Another federal bill is the BREATHE Act (H.R. 1204), which would allow the combined pollution of many gas wells to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. BREATHE stands for “Bringing Reductions to Energy’s Airborne Toxic Health Effects.”

The “Ban” bill (A. 3313, S. 2576) would ban fracking in the state of New Jersey. It received unanimous approval by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. There could be floor vote as soon as May, so now is the time to contact your New Jersey senators to voice your support!

If you need convincing that water supplies are being contaminated by hydraulic fracturing, catch a screening of the now well known documentary “Gasland”. Also check out an interview PBS did with the film’s creator, Josh Fox.

We have only one clean water supply. When it’s gone, it’s gone. The damage can’t be undone.

As if the devastation to our water supply isn’t enough, another consequence of fracking is the release of methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

If we needed more reason to support renewable energy, we have it.

Halt gas drilling until water safety is assured

There were a few very good editorials posted today on the Star-Ledger's website NJ.com. This first one should be of interest to many environmental groups like the Sierra Club, Riverkeepers and Waterkeeper Alliance and anyone else that thinks clean drinking water is more important than drilling for natural gas along the Delaware river as new Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett wishes to do, should be concerned about this.

The process of drilling for natural gas along the Delware river would entail using a drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking". This process injects chemical fluids and other materials into boreholes to fracture bedrock for the purpose off releasing oil or natural gas. Fracking could lead to ground water contamination and air quality issues :

The Delaware River Basin is downstream from planned drillings for natural gas. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has instructed his economic development officer to fast-track permits for drilling. About 10,000 wells are expected to be green-lighted, creating jobs, producing clean fuel and lessening our dependence on foreign oil for several decades.

But there's a dark side: The process of drilling, known as hydraulic fracturing — or "fracking" — has the potential to contaminate the Delaware, which provides drinking water for 15 million people, including 3 million in New Jersey. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the threat, but won't be done until next year. Pennsylvania should not be allowed to proceed until we know it's safe.

New York already has a moratorium and New Jersey should follow suit. Two bills before the state Assembly tomorrow recognize the urgency of the situation: One would put the brakes on drilling until the feds complete their study, and the other asks Congress to no longer exempt fracking from safe water regulations, as it has since 2005, and to require drilling companies to reveal all chemicals used in fracking. "We're asking for transparency," said Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen), the bills' sponsor. Both bills are key to protecting our water supply.

Fracking shatters rock formations to release the gas through high-powered drilling using sand, chemicals and billions of gallons of water. Along with the gas, the chemically contaminated water also is released. The earth's naturally occurring radioactive radium also is disturbed by fracking. Wastewater treatment plants can't scrub clean all the pollutants in Pennsylvania's drilling waste water which, by one account, totaled more than a billion gallons in the past three years.

Preliminary reports by EPA consultants and regulators found it highly likely that toxic water unleashed in Pennsylvania would endanger the Delaware River, and evidence exists that the drilling wastewater also corrodes treatment plants, undermining their ability to break down regular sewage.

The Delaware River Basin Commission, which represents the watershed interests of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware, is proposing its own regulations for fracking. But the commission should take the advice of 39 New Jersey state legislators, who have asked it to wait until the federal study is complete. Jeff Tittel, of the Sierra Club's New Jersey chapter, says the commission's proposals are deficient because they don't explore the vast clear-cutting of forests and construction of roads that accompany fracking....

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