Will Newark Get $100M For Lead Water Crisis?
Will $100 million in funding make its way to Newark to help the city with its ongoing water woes? It's up to President Donald Trump.
Will $100 million in funding make its way to Newark to help the city with its ongoing water woes? It's up to President Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill that aims to help communities across the country, including Newark, remove lead from their drinking water. The Water Infrastructure Funding Transfer Act — originally sponsored by former Newark mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker — now heads to Trump's desk.
If the president signs it into law, the bill would give states facing a threat to public health from lead in drinking water the flexibility to make a one-time transfer of the federal funds in their Clean Water State Revolving Fund to their Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for projects that will remove lead from drinking water.
New Jersey would be able to transfer up to $100 million in federal funds to help ease the financial impact of a massive effort to replace lead service pipes in 18,000 Newark homes, the suspected culprit behind the contamination.