NYCLU on EPA Ordering Syracuse to Address Lead Water Crisis

SYRACUSE – Following concerted advocacy from the New York Civil Liberties Union, Families for Lead Freedom Now and national partners, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered yesterday the City of Syracuse to take action to resolve its lead water crisis. In response, the NYCLU released the following statement attributable to Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Center. 

“This order confirms what we already knew: the City of Syracuse has violated its own drinking water laws, putting the health and well-being of its residents at risk.  

“Syracuse residents and advocates have been demanding action for nearly a year. Yet, city and state officials treated our concerns as an afterthought and failed to provide any meaningful response. Now, our voices can finally be heard.  

“Addressing our city’s lead crisis is both a public health and a racial justice imperative. Syracuse residents deserve safe and clean water, and we will continue to fight to make this a reality.” 

In July, the NYCLU and advocates filed a petition urging the EPA to address the city’s lead crisis. You can read the petition here.  

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