Reposted 8/18/12:
Below is the response I received from Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers regarding my concern that Ecology and Teck took down the air monitor they promised to keep up after four air monitoring phases done in Northport in the 1990’s all concluded levels of arsenic and cadmium were consistently found to be way above all safety standards right after phase 4 was completed.
I would like your opinions on how I took her response. I bolded the parts of her email that I refer to below:
My thoughts
I took her response to say, basically, her priority is to protect jobs filled by US industries required to follow current, incorrect pollution regulations by “lifting (sic) the regulatory burdens hindering business”.
So she wants to actually let them pollute more to create jobs rather than protect the safety and health of the people of Washington State?
Not to mention the industry, or company, in question is a Canadian smelter that has been proven to be responsible for the issues in our area.
If her concern is for job security for US Citizens than why is she protecting jobs for a Canadian smelter that continues to contribute to the deaths and health issues of WA residents?
Perhaps the inability for the ill or dead to work will open up more jobs for others?
Wouldn’t the additional staffing needed to fix the EPA and other US Agencies incorrect research used to set said requirements and hire people who can do correct risk assessments and human health investigations as well as correct environmental remedial investigation/feasibility studies create plenty of jobs and also protect our safety, health and environment?
I am stunned and saddened by her ignorance if that is the case.
Please let me know your opinions or if I am misunderstanding the email.
Jamie Paparich
The Northport Project
Dear Ms. Paparich,
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 2018, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011. It is an honor to represent the people of Eastern Washington, and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
I believe there must be a balance between protecting our environment, communities, and families, and ensuring that economic development is encouraged. This is what the authors of the Clean Water Act intended as well. The Clean Water Act is a tool in our arsenal to protect our nation’s streams, not a mechanism to regulate economic development. At a time when our economy is fragile and jobs continue to be scarce, we need to be looking at ways to lift the regulatory burdens hindering business in ways that continue to protect the environment.
Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue. As your Representative in Congress, I am committed to putting the best interests of Eastern Washington first. I invite you to visit my website at http://www.mcmorrisrodgers.house.gov for additional information or to sign up for my e-newsletter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
Best Wishes,
Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Member of Congress
THE NORTHPORT PROJECT 
Sad, very sad. I hope she just doesn’t understand the impact of her statement. If it was on purpose, she should find a new job.
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I am speechless after reading these comments of Cathy McMorris Rodgers. It is obvious that she does not care about the people of Washington State. If I were a citizen of Washington, I certainly would not vote for her and would do everything in my power to replace her! This Canadian company, Teck should be held accountable for and pay for cleanup of the Northport environment. The atrocities that this company has continually committed for more than a century must stop.
A concerned U.S. citizen
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I am an Independant voter living in your district, and have voted for you each time you have run. Your response to the serious questions raised by the Northport Project are unacceptable. It indicates that your position is that budget and economic concerns weigh more than the lives of hundreds of your constituents. You are not willing to require that the EPA and Canada fulfill promises made 15 years ago, and used s stock Republican answer to cover it. I will no longer be voting for you, will encourage all of my friends and relatives to not vote for you, and will post this response on Facebook.
Have a good day.
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Cathy is clueless…she’s mainly just another conservative mouth for the GOP. She certainly does not represent me, either.
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You got the “Cathy McMorris Rogers” conservative response to any and all inquiries regarding our environment – whether it is in her district or where ever. Does she even know what is going on in Northport? Have you had a fundraiser for her? Then she may know.
She just became aware this year that Washington State has one of the highest rates of MS! How long has she lived in Washington State?
I am sorry, but she does not represent me – and you may find out she doesn’t really represent you either.
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