The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) held a press conference yesterday in Wilmington with Mayor Bill Saffo, Representative Deb Butler (HD-18), NCDP Chair Bobbie Richardson, and Kemp Burdette from Cape Fear River Watch to celebrate President Biden and Democrats’ Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The event highlighted the $10 billion nationwide the bill will provide to clean up the dangerous Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) toxins known as “forever chemicals”, which will aid the 300,000 residents of Cape Fear communities who have been exposed to it for more than 40 years.
See below for coverage on the event that dominated Wilmington headlines:
Port City Daily: Along the river, Democrats tout Biden’s infrastructure bill, PFAS cleanup dollars and party win
Local Democrats joined riverside at Dram Tree Park Monday and, under the rumblings of trucks crossing Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, celebrated historic investments in purifying the nation’s contaminated drinking sources, including the one right behind them… North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Bobbie Richardson criticized the Republicans who didn’t support the bill. She accused Congressman Ted Budd, former Governor Pat McCrory and former Congressman Mark Walker, all of whom were against the bill, of opposing “investments in North Carolina and Wilmington clean drinking water.”
WHQR: The Bipartistan Infrastructure Law will bring historic investments to clean water, including PFAS mitigation
The Biden Administration’s recent infrastructure bill will provide billions of dollars to address drinking water contamination, including from emerging contaminants like PFAS. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances are emerging contaminants that are strongly associated with negative health outcomes like cancers, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and decreased vaccine response. Although the substances were invented in the 1940s, PFAS can now be found in the blood of 99% of living humans. Multiple studies have shown elevated levels of PFAS in the blood of residents near the contaminated Cape Fear River. At a press conference next to the Cape Fear River, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said there would be $10 billion invested in addressing such contamination across the country, with some of that money coming to Wilmington down the line.
WECT: Infrastructure Law Will Provide $10 Billion to Clean Up Drinking Water
WWAY: EPA to Allocate $10 Billion for Clean Water
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