EAST ST. LOUIS – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with residents and local leaders in the Centreville area about ongoing environmental justice issues the community faces with flooding and sewage. Duckworth first met with residents of Centreville impacted by persistent inland flooding, followed by a meeting with local officials including Illinois State Senator Chris Belt (IL-SD-57), Illinois State Representative LaToya Greenwood (IL-HD-114) and other local elected officials. Photos from today’s meeting are available here
“The people of Centreville and the environmental justice issues their community faces deserve to be addressed, and I was glad to have the opportunity to discuss how the federal government can help bring the much needed-resources,” Duckworth said. “No matter the zip code, the color of their skin, or how much money they make, no one deserves to live with public health concerns in their backyard.”
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As the co-founder of the Senate’s first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus, Duckworth has worked to raise awareness of the many environmental and pollution issues that have created public health challenges, which disproportionately impact low income communities and communities of color. In the Metro East region, Duckworth called for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to investigate potential health hazards from a waste facility in Sauget, Illinois. Earlier this year, Duckworth also urged the EPA immediately start testing air at certain facilities in Illinois for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFOS and PFOA) contamination, specifically requesting testing at the facility in Sauget.
