{"id":2332350,"date":"2024-08-28T07:38:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T11:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-demands-answers-from-epa-on-unsafe-federal-drinking-water-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T07:45:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T11:45:19","slug":"ernst-demands-answers-from-epa-on-unsafe-federal-drinking-water-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-demands-answers-from-epa-on-unsafe-federal-drinking-water-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ernst demands answers from EPA on unsafe federal drinking water &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fernst-demands-answers-from-epa-on-unsafe-federal-drinking-water-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2332350&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is urging \u200cthe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action to prevent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsoms-california-nearly-1-million-residents-lack-safe-drinking-water-audit-shows\/\" title=\"Newsom\u2019s California: Nearly 1 Million Residents Lack Safe Drinking Water, Audit Shows\">unsafe drinking water<\/a> situations similar to\u200b the Flint water crisis from\u2064 occurring in federal\u200c buildings. In a recent letter to EPA Administrator \u200cMichael Regan, Ernst\u2063 highlighted reports indicating \u200bthat stagnant water in federally used buildings, due to the shift to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, has \u2062become contaminated with dangerous substances such as lead and Legionella bacteria. She criticized the agency for its inaction in addressing these health risks, which she claims stem from \u200cbureaucrats \u200cneglecting their duties and not returning to work. Ernst recently awarded the EPA her &#8220;Squeal Award&#8221; for what she described as irresponsible spending practices and called for urgent measures to ensure \u2062safe drinking water, particularly\u2062 in government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-newsom-announces-statewide-vaccine-mandate-for-california-healthcare-workers\/\" title=\"Gov. Newsom Announces Statewide Vaccine Mandate For California Healthcare Workers\">day care centers<\/a>. She emphasized the need \u2062for federal employees to return to\u200c their workplaces to help resolve the contamination issues instead of focusing \u200bon ambitious climate policies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ernst demands answers from EPA on unsafe federal drinking water due to telework<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1738477\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &mdash;<\/strong> Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joni-ernst\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joni Ernst <\/a>(R-IA) is demanding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/epa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> prevent a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/flint-water-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Flint water crisis<\/a>&rdquo; from occurring inside federal buildings, arguing telework and the agency&rsquo;s focus on climate policies led to unsafe drinking water.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In a letter sent Wednesday to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and provided exclusively to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iowa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Iowa\">Iowa<\/a> senator pointed to several reports from the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General. The reports found that water in several federal buildings, including employee child care centers, was contaminated with &ldquo;dangerous toxins.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The conditions are a direct result of lead, copper, and Legionella accumulating in stagnant water in the buildings after being abandoned by bureaucrats at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,&rdquo; Ernst wrote. &ldquo;Four years later, the dangers persist because bureaucrats refuse to come back to work.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She awarded the EPA this month&rsquo;s &ldquo;Squeal Award,&rdquo; her accountability effort that condemns &ldquo;reckless spending habits&rdquo; in Washington. In her award announcement, Ernst called on the Biden-Harris administration to &ldquo;get the lead out, literally.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The buildings were left abandoned since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn caused contaminated water, which in turn led to buildings once again being vacated to avoid health threats caused by underutilization,&rdquo; the Squeal Award reads. &ldquo;As a result, those who are showing up are being put at risk.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Several reports have been released over the years &mdash; the first in September 2022, followed by September 2023, and most recently in July. Inaction from the EPA led Ernst to send the letter Wednesday morning, according to her team.<\/p>\n<p>A GSA report found that one-fourth of the locations in federal buildings tested &ldquo;have shown the presence of Legionella bacteria in exceedance of established thresholds,&rdquo; according to Ernst&rsquo;s letter to the EPA. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-chief-economic-advisor-wont-counter-bidens-false-claim-of-19-million-jobs-from-bill\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Chief Economic Advisor Won\u2019t Counter Biden\u2019s False Claim Of 19 Million Jobs From Bill\">child care center<\/a> in Seattle, lead concentrations were almost &ldquo;14 times higher than the EPA action level,&rdquo; but the building remained operational for two years after it was reopened and two months after samples were collected. Other bacteria have been found in places such as the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building in Michigan and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We cannot allow another Flint water crisis to occur inside federal buildings,&rdquo; Ernst wrote. &ldquo;Because the GSA is failing to ensure the safety of the water in government buildings, I urge the EPA to issue emergency orders protecting civil servants and other visitors to these buildings, especially the children in the day care centers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ernst said in a statement that federal employees need to return to work to &ldquo;focus on ensuring safe drinking water in government day care centers, instead of pushing radical agendas and big government takeovers.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Mass teleworking is allowing dangerous contaminants to fester, making water in many federal buildings less safe to drink than in Flint, Michigan,&rdquo; the Iowa senator said.&nbsp;&ldquo;To make matters worse, EPA was&nbsp;completely unaware that buildings housing its own offices have had toxic water for years because Biden bureaucrats have been&nbsp;focused on implementing the Green New Deal and fighting a legal battle to seize control of 97% of land in Iowa.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This is the latest step from Ernst to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/giddy-irs-launches-ai-enabled-sweeping-historic-tax-violator-crackdown\/\" title=\"Excited IRS Unleashes AI-Powered Crackdown on Tax Violators\">hold government agencies accountable<\/a> for teleworking as the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. The senator&rsquo;s investigation in June <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/ernst-requested-audit-reveals-teleworking-bureaucrats-are-overpaid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>found<\/a> that 1 in 4 Department of Commerce employees had moved to areas with lower rates of pay but still received a higher pay rate associated with higher cost of living areas.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In May, Ernst demanded that the Pentagon present a plan to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3022952\/ernst-federal-telework-vpn-tracking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>verify teleworkers are actually working<\/a>, including using VPN tracking or employee traffic logs.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to the EPA for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1738477\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1738477\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action to avoid a &#8220;Flint water crisis&#8221; in federal buildings, claiming that telework and the agency&#8217;s emphasis on climate initiatives have resulted in unsafe drinking water. In a letter addressed to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, which was exclusively shared with the Washington Examiner, Ernst referenced multiple reports from the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General. These reports indicated that several federal buildings, including childcare centers for employees, had water contaminated with &#8220;dangerous toxins.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Ernst stated that these issues stem from lead, copper, and Legionella bacteria accumulating in stagnant water due to bureaucrats abandoning these buildings at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted that four years later, these dangers continue because officials have not returned to work. This month, she awarded the EPA her \u201cSqueal Award,\u201d an initiative aimed at highlighting \u201creckless spending habits\u201d in Washington. In her announcement for this award, she urged the Biden-Harris administration to address lead contamination urgently.<\/p>\n<p>The Squeal Award highlighted how abandoned buildings since COVID-19 led to contaminated water and further vacated spaces due to health risks associated with underutilization. Reports over recent years\u2014first released in September 2022 and followed by updates in September 2023 and July\u2014have shown ongoing issues with unsafe drinking water. According to Ernst\u2019s letter, a GSA report revealed that one-quarter of tested locations within federal buildings had Legionella bacteria levels exceeding safe thresholds.<\/p>\n<p>In one instance at a Seattle childcare center, lead levels were nearly 14 times higher than what is deemed acceptable by EPA standards; yet it remained operational for two years after reopening and two months post-sampling. Other contaminants were also found in various locations such as Michigan&#8217;s Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building and facilities under Medicare and Medicaid Services.<\/p>\n<p>Ernst emphasized that another Flint-like crisis must be avoided within federal properties and urged immediate emergency measures from the EPA for protecting civil servants and visitors\u2014including children at daycare centers\u2014due to GSA&#8217;s failure regarding safety protocols.<\/p>\n<p>She asserted that federal employees should return physically to their workplaces instead of promoting radical agendas or government overreach while ensuring safe drinking water standards are met across government-operated daycare facilities. Ernst criticized mass teleworking as allowing hazardous contaminants to thrive within many federal structures\u2014making their drinking water potentially more dangerous than Flint\u2019s\u2014and accused Biden administration officials of being oblivious about toxic conditions affecting their own offices while focusing on implementing environmental policies like those related to the Green New Deal.<\/p>\n<p>This latest move by Ernst aims at holding government agencies accountable as teleworking continues post-pandemic; earlier investigations revealed discrepancies regarding Department of Commerce employees relocating without adjusting pay rates accordingly based on cost-of-living differences. Additionally, she previously requested plans from Pentagon officials verifying actual work engagement among teleworkers through methods like VPN tracking or employee traffic logs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2648,"featured_media":2332351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/joni-ernst-water-in-federal-buildings-scaled-1024x682.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[39498,10732,11232,39499,8390],"class_list":["post-2332350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-drinking-water","tag-epa","tag-ernst","tag-federal-regulations","tag-safety"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/joni-ernst-water-in-federal-buildings-scaled-1024x682.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2332350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2332351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2332350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2332350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2332350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}