Dec 6
2016
Dan Telvock discusses his report on how the Erie County Water Authority cut corners in its testing program for lead in the drinking water supplied to most local suburbs, and the agency’s response to the report. The interview aired Tuesday, Dec. 6, on WBFO’s Press Pass.
Nov 10
2016
In the latest episode of Investigative Postcast, environmental reporter Dan Telvock talks to Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards about the risks posed by lead in drinking water, and why it’s a bigger problem than local governments want to acknowledge. Keeping drinking water safe, Edwards said, is primarily about following existing laws: “Trying to make sure that the environmental policemen do their job.” That’s made harder by the fact that there’s a “culture of complacency” towards lead in drinking water, Edwards said. “They’re trying to defend the indefensible,” Edwards said, discussing Investigative Post’s recent story about how the Erie County Water Authority[...]
Nov 7
2016
The Erie County Water Authority is cutting corners in its testing program for lead in the drinking water supplied to most local suburbs. The authority has historically made little effort to meet a federal mandate to test homes deemed most at risk for lead contamination. In fact, Investigative Post found several examples where the authority tested houses that clearly do not meet the criteria. “If this monitoring is flawed, if this monitoring it not actually targeting the highest risk homes, then consumers may be receiving erroneous information and false assurances about how safe the water is,” said Yanna Lambrinidou, a[...]
Oct 31
2016
In this episode of Investigative Postcast, Investigative Post’s environment reporter Dan Telvock discusses his award-winning coverage of Western New York’s lead poisoning problem, which has recently prompted the City of Buffalo to introduce new initiatives to combat the problem. Telvock explains why lead poisoning poses such a threat to young children and why New York’s schools are now testing their water for lead, thanks to an emergency law passed earlier this year. “In the past, they really didn’t do it on a regular basis. Our schools never were really aggressively testing for lead in any of the water sources in[...]
Oct 20
2016
Mayor Byron Brown proclaimed Wednesday that Buffalo’s water is “lead safe” after samples from more than 150 homes showed results below the federal government’s standard. “Still, we know people are concerned and we felt it was imperative that we do more in Buffalo to reassure our residents that we are using best practices and doing everything we can to make sure our water supply and distribution system is safe,” Brown said. The mayor announced a series of new initiatives that he said go above and beyond what the federal Environmental Protection Agency requires water utilities to do to ensure drinking[...]
Oct 18
2016
The Common Council passed legislation Tuesday to address chipping and peeling lead paint hazards in rental units following years of reporting by Investigative Post on Buffalo’s serious lead poisoning problem. The new legislation requires landlords and property managers to: Permit inspectors to check for lead hazards on all rental units built before 1978. Certify that rental units built before 1978 are free of lead paint hazards by submitting a compliance letter from a licensed inspector. Disclose to renters that lead paint could be present in apartments built before 1978. Attend an accredited course on how to safely renovate, repair and paint[...]
Oct 4
2016
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz stopped short of requiring his health department to mandate tap water sampling in homes where children are already diagnosed with high lead levels, but he did say that “maybe we do need to take additional steps, such as testing the water.” He said testing drinking water for lead might make sense in the event county health inspectors fail to find any lead paint problems in the home. His remarks come a little over a month after Investigative Post reported that disparity, ‘cheating’ and potential conflicts plague Buffalo’s sampling program for lead in drinking water. While[...]
Sep 29
2016
In this week’s episode of Investigative Postcast, Dan Telvock talks water quality with Erie County Legislator Pat Burke. Burke says the region has a history of bad environmental decisions. “Before we can even fix the obvious problems that exist now, we just have to stop doing dumb things,” said Burke, who introduced legislation that recently banned in Erie County the sale of products containing microbeads. “A lot of people would debate how influential the legislature can be in general, and I think me and some others have proven that it can be, and it can make a difference,” he said.[...]