Environment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) sent a letter to Margaret A. Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urging the agency to evaluate the safety of oral care products, such as toothpastes and gum, that contain polyethylene microbeads. Accounts from both consumers and dental professionals suggest that these small bits of plastic, which are not biodegradable, may get lodged in crevices between the teeth and gums, trapping bacteria and potentially threatening oral health.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced that Rutgers University has been awarded $117,000 to help New Jersey businesses reduce the amount of toxic materials that they generate or use. The funding, provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will allow Rutgers to identify manufacturers that are candidates for pollution prevention assistance, particularly those that are vulnerable to releases of hazardous substances in the event of climate change-related storm surges.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) sent a letter to Robin Ikeda, Acting Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), to express his concern regarding the use of recycled rubber tire crumbs in synthetic turf fields and the potential health risks that they pose.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced that New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC) has been awarded $567,776 for research, extension and education programs on coastal issues. NJSGC will also receive an additional $333,281 in non-federal matching funds. Sea Grant is a nationwide network administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of 33 programs based at top research universities that help build resilient coastal communities.

WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) expressed his support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to complete the remediation of the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Superfund site in South Plainfield, New Jersey. This comes in response to the EPA’s proposed plan to cleanup a nine mile stretch of Bound Brook, which passes next to the former Cornell-Dubilier Electronics facility. Under this proposed plan, the EPA estimates that this fourth and final phase of the cleanup will cost $252 million.

EDISON, NJ – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06) and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck to highlight Hunger Action month. They visited a BJ’s Wholesale Club in Edison, New Jersey to announce the store’s participation in the EPA Food Recovery Challenge Program that reduces food waste and hunger while also protecting the environment.

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) issued the following statement in response to the Record of Decision issued today by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). BOEM’s decision will allow for further environmental review of geological and geophysical (G&G) survey activities off the Mid- and South Atlantic coast and may lead to permits for seismic surveying in the Atlantic being issued.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) sent a letter to Governor Chris Christie urging him to reconsider his decision to withdraw the State of New Jersey from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Pallone stressed that remaining in RGGI will help New Jersey comply with new regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA’s proposal, announced in June 2014, seeks to cut the amount of carbon pollution produced by power plants by 30% to below 2005 levels by 2030.