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01/26/2020 11:00 PMState Senator Christine Cohen (D-12) joined her Democratic colleagues in the State Senate on Jan. 21 to announce A Healthy Connecticut, the first of four legislative agendas for the 2020 legislative session from Senate Democrats that seek to strengthen Connecticut’s health care, environmental, and energy systems, including action on long-lasting environmental chemicals known as PFAS.
“I am looking forward to a solutions-based session that will relieve some of the burdens that Connecticut’s residents feel,” Cohen said. “I am ready to get to work alongside my colleagues to tackle health care and environmental issues that weigh on our minds. We are fortunate to enjoy a high quality of life in Connecticut with our beautiful stretches of coastline, our open space and recreational areas, and our state parks. Additionally, we boast some of the finest health care facilities and physicians in the country. However, our environment faces regular threats from a variety of sources, and healthcare costs continue to skyrocket for individuals and small businesses. My goal this session is to work with fellow legislators to craft and vote on proposals improving both.”
Cohen said one of the issues before the Environment Committee this session, which begins Wednesday, Feb. 5, is protecting Connecticut’s public drinking water supplies from PFAS chemicals and lead.
In June 2019, a malfunctioning fire alarm pull box in a private aircraft hangar at Bradley International Airport caused its fire suppression system to discharge, releasing approximately 40,000 gallons of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) containing PFAS, which are a group of man-made chemicals that are very persistent in the environment and in the human body, meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. About half of that foam traveled from floor drains into the municipal sanitary sewer system and through the MDC wastewater treatment plant, and was ultimately discharged into the Farmington River.
In mid-October 2019, a vintage World War II airplane crashed at Bradley International Airport, requiring the use of more PFAS-containing firefighting foam.
In response to these incidents, Governor Ned Lamont established the Interagency PFAS Task Force to create a strategic plan for addressing PFAS.
Eleven other U.S. states have already taken action on PFAS, ranging from requiring water systems to monitor PFAS levels in drinking water to restricting the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS.
This session, Cohen said the Environment Committee will consider a number of recommendations, including:
• Establishing an AFFF take-back program
• Reducing future releases of AFFF to the environment through measures such as a ban on firefighting training with AFFF
• Establishing a Safe Drinking Water Advisory Council to make recommendations regarding maximum contaminant levels for PFAS in drinking water
• Requiring all water bottlers that sell bottled water in Connecticut to test their products for PFAS
As a small business owner, Cohen also spoke of the need to pass so-called “public option” this year that would allow businesses and residents to buy-in to a state public health care plan.
“Prior to my election to the State Senate, I was paying over $1,500 a month in insurance premiums with a $16,000 deductible. That means I was paying $34,000 a year before I realized health care coverage,” Cohen said. “The high cost of health insurance has been a burden on Connecticut’s small businesses and working families for far too long. Premiums continue to rise, making coverage unsustainable. A public option for health insurance will give Connecticut affordable, quality health insurance, and it will encourage healthy competition in the health insurance marketplace. A public option is a pro-business, pro-economy policy for the state.”
Cohen also lent her support to other Senate Democratic legislative goals, including: helping to reduce utility shut-offs in Connecticut; capping insulin costs; reducing prescription drug costs, expanding patient’s rights; protecting the Affordable Care Act from federal cuts; and expanding Obamacare to people under age 26 allowing them remain on their parents’ health insurance for dental and eye care.