Congressman Salud Carbajal. photo: ksby.com
Central coast congressman Salud Carbajal announced yesterday at the San Luis Obispo county regional airport that he intends to introduce two new bills on Friday aimed at reducing water pollution sources.
For decades, firefighters used a film forming foam for airport training, which contains chemicals that have been linked to groundwater pollution and a variety of human health issues. The bills Carbajal is expected to introduce into the house of representatives tomorrow would first mandate the FAA to create a plan to transition airports to fluorine-free firefighting foam, and the second would require the US department of transportation to establish a grant program to reimburse costs to airports for transitioning to fluorine-free firefighting foam.
Courtney Johnson, director of airports for San Luis Obispo county, said the grants would be helpful, but still might not be enough.
