$56M needed for East Chicago lead crisis

EAST CHICAGO — City officials estimate they need at least $56 million to adequately address the ongoing lead crisis.

In a report submitted Friday to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office, Mayor Anthony Copeland outlined the city’s priorities to aid residents living in the lead- and arsenic-contaminated USS Lead Superfund site and remove lead service lines and water infrastructure deficiencies elsewhere in the city.

The city wants to provide water filters to Superfund site residents; replace lead piping in the city, along with faucet fixtures and drinking water fountains throughout the school district; expand blood lead testing to include arsenic; and remove lead-based paint hazards in homes.

“Governor, I want you to know that while we did not cause the problems in Calumet, we are committed to working with you and others to resolve them,” Copeland wrote to Holcomb in the Friday report.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/city-m-needed-for-east-chicago-lead-crisis/article_54b7c8ea-48dd-5799-af06-a3d476d400ff.html