NJ Governor Defends Newark Water Crisis Response Denies Comparisons To Flint | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy joins MSNBC's Brian Williams to discuss the ongoing water crisis in Newark defending his government's response and denying comparisons to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
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NJ Governor Defends Newark Water Crisis Response Denies Comparisons To Flint | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

53 comments

    1. Parker Adelson : A body language expert would eviscerate this guy. His hands are one thing, but his blinking? Look at the blinking? He’s exhausted, and he knows he’s lying. He looks to me, like he wants to tell the truth, but can’t, to me . . .

    2. @Ash Roskell What do you suppose he had wedged down in his bottom teeth at one point. THAT was disturbing.

    3. Parker Adelson , this was known back in 2010 under Booker when it was learned the Schools had Poisoned Water !

    4. salmonline , prove what , its a reported Fact , that Newark Schools had Poisoned Water in 2010, rather then doing a Biden take a second and google for the Facts !

  1. It’s so shameful for a so called first world country do not have clean uncontaminated drinkable for some of their citizens. What a shame! What are you waiting for? Flint 2.0?

    1. Newark and Flint are the only communities that have figured out that they have a lead problem. The infrastructure in the country is old. They aren’t the only cities with this problem. I don’t know how old you are, but when was the last time someone worked on pipes in your community. Have your parents seen it? Have your grandparents seen it? There is no way only 2 cities are experiencing this. I’m surprised we haven’t heard of this from somewhere like Mississippi or Alabama first.

    2. The city I live in is still using some distribution pipes there were put in during the late 1800s. It’s an old system, and the pipes are slowly being replaced. But it’s expensive, and it takes time. You’re right. Old infrastructure is a huge problem. But in Flint’s case, the problem was not adding an anti-corrosive agent to the drinking water supply, which would have eliminated the problem. I think Newark’s problem is similar.

  2. Lead pipe’s were replaced in the UK many, many years ago, I’m surprised a Nation as the USA, Has not done so itself, They evidence of lead contamination has been around for decades, This looks nothing more like profit before health it’s shocking.

    1. @Mike Nunyabizness that is no excuse. The budgets are comparatively higher too, or not? The leaders are to blame in the first place, caring less for health of their constituants than of their own pockets…get rid of the lobbyists, and go back to ‘we’ the people

    2. @Troy Stocker so??? What is the rest of your argument? Because it is bigger means you cannot do it? Not capable of doing the right thing?

    3. pascal bxl , its because peeps in NJ tend to see issues needing to be dealt with at a town / city level more then a county or state level. To better understand, NJ has almost 600 School Districts which rely on funding mostly from local property taxes. Newark might be the largest city in NJ , But , its Budget per capita is 1/2 that of the average NJ community. NJ might be heavily DEM / Blue , but thats mostly based on Social vs Economic issues, this is a state where the Wealthy Suburbs do not want to share their bounty with the Urban Poor.

  3. Is this what passes for leadership?
    This is tantamount to criminal negligennce.
    This corporate Dem. needs to be primaried by a progressive.

    1. John Carruthers He was and won by a large margin. Murphy has the money and the DNC behind him. He’s not vulnerable right now. The state legislature is where seats can flip.

    2. @Garrett Wyckoff sorry , didn’t know he’d already been challenged.
      Maybe one for later?
      State’s the way to go then , I guess.

    3. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders fulfilled a pledge he made during his 2016 presidential campaign and returned to the city of Flint, Mich., on Feb. 25. During his visit to the city, which has not previously been reported, Sanders met with local community members and activists who are dealing with the lead poisoning crisis that has affected the city’s water supply since 2014.
      In a statement to Yahoo News, Sanders said the situation remains dire and the government response has been inadequate.

      “On my return to Flint this week, I once again saw a community that is economically and socially oppressed and in desperate need of our help. I also saw some beautiful and strong people of all ages working tirelessly to improve that community,” Sanders said, adding, “The impact of the water crisis continues to be enormous, and government at all levels is not doing enough. The work of Pastor Tillman and all those I met in Flint is extraordinary, and I look forward to continuing to work with them.”

      The residents of Flint, which is the seventh-largest city in Michigan and has a predominantly African-American population, have been exposed to high levels of lead since their drinking water source was changed to a local river in 2014. Flint’s water crisis became a major issue during the 2016 presidential race. As candidates, President Trump and Sanders both visited the city. Sanders also had a campaign office in Flint and its workers got involved in bottled water distribution efforts.

      Sanders said he would return to Flint when he came to the city on Feb. 25, 2016. Two years to the day, he kept that promise. Sanders, who is reportedly considering another run for president in 2020, came back to Flint at the tail end of a trip to Michigan, where he campaigned on behalf of congressional candidates he’s endorsed and against President Trump’s tax plan.

  4. Look how low the response is, here on YouTube? Not many people seem to care? THAT is a tragedy. And it’s the same tragedy that politicians count on. If it was YOU, would you care? . . .

    1. That’s facts, and it’s very sad. America is self absorbed, too busy shopping and watching tv until a crisis hits home on their head.

    2. Did you care years before when this was an issue? Before this clown governor came on TV to play the blame game?

  5. Infrastructure bill anyone?! Where is it?! Cities like Flint and Newark are prime examples. Overhead power lines need converted to underground too. Puerto Rico is an example of why this needs done all over America. Every city is only 1 bad storm away from power grid failures. See NYC. WTF is taking this country so long to realize we are failing and falling behind because they thought they didn’t have to keep up and look at us now

    1. Agree. Just remember though, no ALL communities should have underground lines. Some do better with overhead. No single solutions fit every circumstance. But yeah, I REALLY wish we had those in my neighborhood. We lose power every time we get a little bit of wind and rain. Can’t imagine how messed up we’d be if a real Nor’Easter blew in. People would die.

    2. @Alex Ocasio-Gomez It really would not tax pur country’s budget to get water to both people in the desert AND fix the lead pipe problem. We just have to prioritize that. But… and I love the desert but… ever consider maybe living where the water IS?

    3. @Alex Ocasio-Gomez BTW you don’t live too far away from the benefits. You are using the internet, right now. That’s thanks to the US government (taxpayers). You have roads, telephones, bridges, schools, the US Postal Service, military , police, air traffic control, Park Service, Forrestry Service, Weather Service… I think you don’t realize how many things your government provides you. I agree that they absolutely should provide water for the folks out in desert areas that they encouraged people to move into, stupidly as it turns out. But they did, and so they have an obligation to figure out the problems with the aquifers, manage water disputes better, etc. But, you don’t have to hate on people living in communities where the pipes are sometimes hundreds of years old. They didn’t put the pipes in the ground. They are there, and they are hazardous. These are both problems deserving of a fix.

    4. @Brian Bianco They received far too little to replace all the pipes that needed replacing. Some esitmates put the needed money at $40 BILLION. One study led to request for over $400 million TO START. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/environment/2018/01/08/report-urges-major-investment-njs-aging-leaky-drinking-water-pipes/1009143001/ They got far less. They have been using it to educate, test, and provide low interest loans to homeowners who are willing to do the work of replacing their piopes. It’s not nearly enough. And the Trump administration has frozen programs that were specifically earmarked for drinking water improvement. So talk to Trump’s EPA about that. BTW, a Republican was still in charge then.

      “‘Kennedy described steps that NJDEP has taken to address lead contamination. Prior to the Flint water crisis, the agency began a self-assessment. In 2016, it created a lead team and has implemented a work plan to strengthen regulations, provide technical assistance, and educate the public through the Lead in Drinking Water section of its website. The agency has also collaborated with NJDOE and worked with homeowners and schools to improve testing and training on how to minimize the risks of exposure to lead-tainted water.

      David Zimmer of the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT)** described funding programs for municipalities and utilities that need to remediate lead contamination. It has instituted a new $30 million financing program to provide lower-income communities with zero-interest loans and 90 percent principal forgiveness to fund community projects to remediate lead in drinking water” https://www.jerseywaterworks.org/crisis-pipes-lead-drinking-water/

      They also started adding a corrosion inhibitor to the system and handing out free filters. IT’s not like they did NOTHING, they just didn’t do enough. https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/newark-begins-corrosion-control-to-reduce-lead-in-drinking-water/

  6. Gov. Murphy’s Law is…. “What can go wrong will go wrong as long as it doesn’t wrong ME!”

    1. So the fact that people are being poisoned by lead is an LOL to you? You must be quite the person. The fact is that many older homes/apartment buildings still have lead service lines. Some of the oldest cities have systems that might still include lead pipes. But even with lead pipes, there are ways for a water utility to protect the public with certain additives in the drinking water. This is a major screw-up.

    2. I am sorry, this was most probably sarcasm, in my small country of Belgium, all the lines coming in houses, were replaced by our government more than 10 years ago. So yes a great country as the US should have had this done a very long time ago…..just saying

    3. The Lol is for how backward things are compared to the rest of the l world
      People went from being in shock, to disbelief, to just laughing because of the absurdity of what the USA claims it is, what it claims to represent and what it actually is

  7. TRUMP SAYS THE USA HAS THE BEST CLEANEST WATER IN THE WORLD THAT IT HAS NEVER BEEN SO CLEAN ,, fake trump news?

  8. Here’s an example of why not all Democrats are for the people… I have always held the view that they are in cahoots with the Republicans when it comes to keeping certain people an under-class.. How do these people sleep at night?
    America is the wealthiest country in the world and yet the system and services would be not out of place in a third world dictatorship… What a rank and utter shambles…

  9. Why does nobody have the balls to say what actually needs to be done? Service lines are the responsibility of the PROPERTY OWNER, not the utility operator. Tell the slum lords to replace their lines.

    1. Letting these pipes stay in the ground all these years is evidence of how our governments, local, state, and federal, cave to economic concerns so often over health and safety. They just push the problem off for another year. Should have been done a long time ago. They could have grandfathered it in to reduce economic burden. Instead, they just let the pipes stay in place. Lazy.

    2. @PS Wright Depends on where the pipes are. If the lead pipes are on private property, it is on the property owner. If the lead pipes are on government property it is on the city.

  10. I don’t know this man, or his record, but for some reason I think he is very deceiving. Maybe not straight out lies, but he is not telling the truth. I hope I’m wrong for Newarks sake.

  11. Listen to me, Phil. Fix it and fix it now. I am closely watching/monitoring this situation.😠.
    Me, more water distribution centres that are located in the communities that are affected(churches, community centres, government buildings, etc). Two to four cases of water daily. Aggressive, constant and competent scientific testing of the water safety and quality. Medical treatment for anyone affected by the lead contamination of their water supply. Remove and change all of the lead pipes. If you have a problem with logistics, then deploy the national guard.👍.
    Phil, do everything that is possible in your position as governor to help, console and fix/solve this terrible situation for the citizens of Newark and N.J.👍.

  12. vote these incompetent people out from whatever paty and put in people who will actually get the job done, 4 cases pffft

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