Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The details surrounding the lack of fluoridation in Buffalo's water supply are getting more and more complicated each day.
A Buffalo Common Council committee Tuesday had more questions than answers and lawmakers are now digesting a class action lawsuit against the city filed by several residents about not being informed of no fluoride in the city's drinking water since 2015.
Related
Chairman of Buffalo's Water Board, Oluwole McFoy, was slated to answer the questions of the Buffalo Common councilmen during their Community Development Committee session on Tuesday, but he did not show.
Instead, McFoy addressed the committee, in which all councilmen were in attendance, via a letter. "While it was my intention to speak before this honorable body to clarify what has been reported and answer your questions, due to recently filed litigation, at the advice of counsel, I am unable to speak on the matter today," McFoy wrote in the letter.
McFoy's absence didn't stop the councilmen from discussing how they will get their questions addressed going forward and how they discuss the issue going forward as a result of the lawsuit.
"I would ask Corporation Counsel to go back to the Corporation Counsel, to brief this council in a closed session because Corporation Council represents this council also," said Council President Darius Pridgen. "What I don't want is, to read in the paper, anything that's going on with this situation without us having any information, because our constituents are not going to call Corporation Council, they're not going to call the court, they're gonna call their council member."
"We as council members, perhaps have to be very careful because we are applying to litigation at that point," Councilman David Rivera adds. "As far as the pending litigation, we'll have more information once we go into the executive session, but certainly we'll be careful as to what we can and can't say here today."
In addition to executive session, it was suggested by Councilman Joel Feroleto that the councilmen come up with a list of questions to send to McFoy.
"He could answer those questions and then whether he has to go to our city attorney's first before he responds or what I think there's some basic answers to questions that we should get responses to," said Councilman Feroleto. "And we should be able to share those with the public, because there are many valid questions and concerns that came up. If this litigation lasts years, I don't think people should wait years to get some basic answers that they probably have the answers to today."
Dental professionals spoke with the committee Tuesday, calling for fluoride to come back into the water, today.
"It was very compelling," said Councilman Rivera. "These are professionals that we rely on. Our children's go to them, we go to them and they have an expertise in that area. They said that fluoride does not add to the corrosion of our system, whether it's wet chloride or dry chloride. It doesn't affect the infrastructure, so they can go ahead and put it back in. They should add fluoride back into the drinking water."
Rivera's letter to the Water Board has been tabled and will stay in the committee.
Although the Buffalo Water Board has announced that fluoride will come back in the water sometime this year, the question still remains as to when exactly this will be and what will become of this recently filed lawsuit.
Councilman Rivera explains the actions he is taking going forward. "I'm going to ask the chair of Community Development [Councilman Joseph Golombek] if he could schedule an executive meeting with and invite the Water Authority to come in and talk to us along with Corporation Counsel, whichever way, whether it's the law department or a combination of the Water Authority and the Corporation Counsel to discuss many of the concerns that we have."