The casualties of ongoing federal funding cuts are not just faraway bureaucrats — we are losing programs that are so fundamental to our community life that we have come to take them for granted.
The EPA, for example, is charged with stewardship of our air and water. It delegates some of this responsibility to community organizations that conduct essential environmental monitoring to see what health impacts residents may experience because of historical and contemporary industrial activity. This funding is now under threat. Eliminating the funding could leave Pennsylvanians in the dark about what is in the air they breathe and how they can protect themselves from the health threats posed by industrial activities.
This problem is not unique to environmental organizations. Your local government, county government and schools also receive federal grants and partnership agreements that are being cut. EPA grants support safe drinking water, air pollution abatement, stormwater management, lead paint abatement, waste management and recycling. This is not “government waste.” These are programs that promote the health, safety and well-being of our families and communities right here in Westmoreland County and surrounding areas.
Tell your congressperson and senators that the EPA’s programs are not “government waste.” The people of Westmoreland County deserve uninterrupted support of programs that protect a healthy and safe environment. Do it now, because it will cost us all much more to fix the continuity of support once it has been broken.
Barbara Jones
Penn Township, Westmoreland County