8/16/2019 McLaughlin Hoosick Falls Letter

1/3

STEVEN

F.

N/CLAUGHLIN

Assemblyman

071h istrict

THE ASSEMBLY

RANKINGMINORITYM

Children Families

ommitt

STATE OF

NEWYORK

ALBANY

COMMITTEES

Economic

Development,

Job Creation,

ommerce

and

Industry

Education

Energy

Social

Services

June ,2016

Richard

S.

Hartunian

U.S.Attorney's ffice

445Broadway, oom218

Albany,NY 12207-2924

PreetBharara

United States

ttorney'sOffice

I

St.Andrew's

laza

New York,NY

10007

DearMr. Hartunian ndMr.

Bharara:

As dedicated

ublic

servants,'m sure

we

can

agree hat he health, afety, ndwell-beingof all

New Yorkersare

preeminent,

ne

of our

undamentalolesas eaders

f

our state s

the

protection

f our

residents gainst

wrongdoing swell as

nvestigating ndexposing

overnmental

alfeasancef it is

suspected. e are he oneswho

give

our

people

a voice

andearn

heir rust and

espect

hrough irtuous

action,

The

contamination

f the Hoosick

Falls

water

supplywasdevastatingor residents. illage

residents onsumed ancer-causing

ater

or

years

andsomearestill confined o usingbottledwaterdue

to the oxicity of

their

private

wells.

People rescared nd

yearning

or

answers.

Unfortunately,

e have

now earnedhat his catastropheould'vebeenaddressed

uch

sooner

f

not for the active

resistance'

by the Cuomo

Administration ndNew York StateDepartment f Health

(DOH),

as

eported y ScottWaldman

n Politico.

Througha Freedom

f Information

Law

request,

e

know

hat

he DOH knowingly

gnored ederallyestablished

equirementsor

the

evel

of

PFOA n

the

watersupply,

alling t a matter f

'philosophy'

and

not

ust

science.

ALBANY

OFFICE:Room533,Legislative

ff

ce Building, lbany,

NewYork12248

518-455-5777FAX:5

1 -455-5923

DISTRICT

OFFICE:

58 HoosickStreet,

Suite

1

09,Troy,NewYork12180

518-272-619, FAX:

518-272-6313

EMAIL:mclaughlins assembly.state.ny.s

8/16/2019 McLaughlin Hoosick Falls Letter

2/3

THE ASSEMBLY

STATE OF

NEW

YORK

ALBANY

RANKING

INORITY

EMIBE

Children Families

ommitte

COMMITTEES

Economic

Development,

Job Creation,

ommerce

and Industry

Education

Energy

Social

Services

STEVENF.N/cLAUGHLIN

Assemblyman

07rh istrict

Furthermore, stateofficials claimed

they

did

not want to alarm residents

and waited more

than a

year

to

intervene n Hoosick Falls, while actively disputing

repeated

wamings by the

U.S.

Environmental

Protection Agency

(EPA)

of

unsafe evels of

PFOA

in the

local

water supply.

State

officials also initially

refused

o test

residents'

private

wells for contamination and distributed incorrect telephonenumbers

o

individualswho were desperate

or help.

The

Cuomo

Adminishation repeatedly laimed hat

hey were following

EPA

guidelines

while, in

fact,

the

administration was

proactively ignoring EPA advisories

and denying the

public

information they

neededabout their water.

The residents represent believe hat the Cuomo Administration and DOH perpetuated

and

facilitated

the consumption

of contaminated village water and demonstrated a

pathetic

level

of

accountability and transparency

in handling the matter. It

is for

these reasons hat I am asking

you

to open an

in-depth

investigation

nto the state's

handling of

the

Hoosick

Falls water crisis. Our

residentsdeserveanswersand

government

officials should be held accountable or

allowing

families

to consumecancer-causing

water.

The

Cuomo

Administration's apathy oward

the situation s insulting

and demonstrates

othing

less han incompetencyand an extreme

disdain for the safety,

health,

and well-being of thousandsof New

Yorkers. This

goes

beyond

government nefficiency. This was a

premeditated

and

carefully

executed

plan

for

the

DOH

and Cuomo

Administration to wash their

hands of the situation and isnore

the concernsof

residents, oping hey

would

go

away.

I can tell

you

that the anxiety and

confusion of residentshasn't

gone

away and they deserve

answers.Promises f legislative

hearings y AssemblymenSteven

Englebright

and Richard Gottfried

turnedout to be empff, and Gov.

Cuomo's more han

100-day

postponement

eforeevenvisiting

Hoosick Falls

epitomizes

is disconnectwith

upstate esidents nd

his

myopic approach o

public

safety.

I firmly

believe hat

he Cuomo

Administrationand DOH actively coveredup New York's most

serious

public

healthcrisis since

Love Canaland

put

residents t risk for many months.This level

of

apathy

from state eaderswill

not

be tolerated

and I am asking

for

your

help

to bring those o

justice

who

havebetrayed he

residents

f

Hoosick Falls.

ALBANY

OFFICE:Room

533,

Legislative

fficeBuilding, lbany,New

York12248

518-455-5777, AX:518-455-5923

DISTRICT

OFFICE:

58 Hoosick

Street,Suite109,Troy,NewYork

12180

518-272-619, FAX:

518-272-6313

EMAI : mclaughlins assembly.state.y.us

8/16/2019 McLaughlin Hoosick Falls Letter

3/3