Date:
04/13/2008 12:41 PM On eve of hearings, White House documents show feds
failing to take action on drugs in water
By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP National Writer
WASHINGTON
(AP) _ A White House task force that was supposed to devise
a federal plan to research the issue of pharmaceuticals in
drinking water has missed its deadline and failed to produce
mandated reports and recommendations for coordination among
numerous federal agencies, according to documents obtained
by The Associated Press.
More
than 70 pages of the task force's documents, including e-mails
and weekly reports, were released under the Freedom of Information
Act as a Senate subcommittee prepares to convene a hearing
Tuesday prompted by an AP investigation about trace concentrations
of drugs in America's drinking water.
The
working group on pharmaceuticals in the environment was formed
two years ago through the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy. The panel has met several times for briefings
and is aware of public concern about pharmaceuticals in water
supplies, according to the documents.
In
a weekly report dated March 24, 2006, then-task force coordinator
Kevin Geiss, wrote: "There has been considerable congressional
interest in this topic."
But
it is impossible to track any possible progress by the group
because the White House has classified task force agendas
and minutes as internal documents, and therefore cannot be
released, said spokeswoman Kristin Scuderi. The group's annual
report is in draft form and therefore also cannot be released
at this time, she added.
While
providing some documents to the AP, Rachael Leonard, a White
House deputy general counsel, said "10 inches worth of
documents" were not being released.
The
group's deadline to produce a national research strategy came
and went in December. Scuderi said the task force needs extra
time to "serve as an internal federal vehicle to further
enhance interagency collaboration."
The
group includes representatives from nine federal agencies
including the Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture
Department and the Food and Drug Administration.
The
lack of public disclosure and failure of federal agencies
to act on the pharmaceutical issue is expected to be a focus
at Tuesday's hearing before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee
on Environment and Public Works. Among others, officials from
the EPA and U.S. Geological Survey are scheduled to testify.
The
hearing could produce a showdown between committee members
and EPA officials.
Sen.
Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who heads the committee, and Sen.
Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., chairman of the Transportation,
Safety, Infrastructure Security and Water Quality Subcommittee,
wrote to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on March 18 asking
what the agency plans to do to address concerns about pharmaceuticals
in water. The EPA had not responded, a Senate staff member
said Friday.
The
hearing was prompted by a five-month-long inquiry by the AP
National Investigative Team that disclosed the presence of
trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water
of at least 41 million Americans.
The
AP found that while water is screened for drugs by some suppliers,
they usually don't tell their customers of results showing
the presence of medications including antibiotics, anti-convulsants,
mood stabilizers and sex hormones.
The
series revealed how drugs — mostly the residue of medications
taken by people, excreted and flushed down the toilet —
have gotten into the water supplies of at least 24 major metropolitan
areas, from Southern California to Northern New Jersey. The
stories also detail the growing concerns among scientists
that this pollution has adversely affected wildlife, and may
be threatening human health.
EPA
officials responded with concern, pledging to organize additional
research and by saying people should be informed if drugs
are detected in their water supplies.
But
Kyla Bennett, a lawyer and former EPA biologist, said the
EPA "is moving with all deliberate delay."
Bennett,
who directs the New England branch of Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility, said Congress first ordered
the EPA to address the issue 12 years ago.
"When
it should be pressing forward, EPA is spinning in place, as
if it has overdosed on pharmaceuticals," she said.
Others
say funding has been pulled and priorities shifted.
"The
EPA has missed the boat in really addressing the serious consequences
of pharmaceutical disposal," said Anna Gilmore-Hall,
executive director of Healthcare Without Harm.
Hall's
nonprofit now runs what was the EPA's Hospitals for a Healthy
Environment stewardship program, designed to reduce mercury
use and improve the environmental footprint of the health
care industry.
The
EPA cut the $200,000-per-year program in 2003 after five years,
despite widespread interest and involvement from hospitals,
declining to even sit on the nonprofit's board.
Clean
Water Action's New Jersey campaign Director David Pringle,
slated to testify at the hearing, said he plans to tell the
senators that "while it's not time to panic, it's a time
of concern and we need to take action."
Pringle
said existing regulations are not being used and that federal
officials have known for years there are problems. "They've
clearly been dragging their feet," he said.
Local
hearings and public meetings have already been held in various
cities including New York. The Philadelphia City Council has
a hearing prompted by the AP series scheduled for Monday.
—_—
The
AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate
(at) ap.org
