Perchlorate limits to be set for water

NorthJersey.com
April 30, 2010
By James M. O'Neill

Just weeks after refusing to sign a proposed rule to regulate perchlorate levels in drinking water, state environmental commissioner Bob Martin indicated Thursday that he will implement restrictions for the chemical, which is harmful to pregnant women and fetuses.

"The commissioner does plan to institute a perchlorate regulation as quickly as possible," Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for Martin, said Thursday.

Perchlorate, a chemical ingredient of fertilizer and rocket fuel, has been found in some private and public drinking water wells in North Jersey.

EPA opinion sought

Environmentalists were angry recently when Martin, Governor Christie's new Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, did not sign a proposed rule that would have set a limit on perchlorate in drinking water.

At the time, Martin said he wanted the benefit of better science from the Environmental Protection Agency, which will take up the issue this summer.

Environmentalists argued that waiting for the EPA to move could expose New Jersey residents to high levels of perchlorate for up to six years, since it could take that long to get a rule in place.

A long delay

To reinforce that argument, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility this week released several e-mails it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, in which EPA officials tell Martin it could be years before the EPA sets a standard.

In the e-mails, Eric Burneson, a chief in the EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, says the EPA's decision on whether to regulate for perchlorate would likely be made this summer, but that there was no guarantee the decision would come with a specific recommendation.

In addition, Burneson tells Martin that the regulatory process gives the agency up to 6 1/2 years to implement a new rule.

DEP changes its mind

"As a result," PEER said in a statement that accompanied the release of the e-mails, "New Jerseyans will be exposed to growing levels of this dangerous chemical for several years to come."

"State governments are supposed to protect their citizens, not pass the buck to Washington," said Bill Wolfe, PEER's New Jersey director.

The DEP now says it won't wait for an EPA rule. "We're not planning to wait 6 1/2 years to do something," Ragonese said.

Martin's goal in choosing not to sign the rule in March was to get more information from the EPA, Ragonese said. "The federal data will be more specific. We want their science," he said.

Martin explains

Under questioning from state Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono during budget hearings on Tuesday, Martin said he originally intended to sign the proposed rule until he realized "our science was shoddy and I refuse to sign anything that doesn't have adequate science to back it up."

He said of the DEP researchers: "The data they provided was poor, not organized, anecdotal at best." Martin also said nobody was able to document the public health risk of the chemical to his satisfaction.

He said the EPA was doing work on the impact, and "when we get that science … I will review it again and look to put something forward if it makes sense based on the science."

The National Research Council has said that perchlorate interferes with thyroid function in pregnant women, which could harm the fetus and cause learning problems.

High levels found

The proposed rule would have required public water systems to test for perchlorate and treat the water if levels exceeded 5 parts per billion. The rule also would have required property owners with private wells to test for the chemical during real estate transactions.

Tests by the DEP between 2003 and 2005 found perchlorate levels as high as 23 parts per billion in a well operated by the Park Ridge water system. Some private wells tested in Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake and Saddle River had levels up to 110 parts per billion.

The New Jersey Realtors Association and the New Jersey Builders Association had opposed the rule, citing the financial costs to homeowners with private wells.