The problem of PFAS (per- and polyfluoralkyl substances) in Livingston County waterways — which caused a Do Not Eat fish advisory on all the lakes connected by the Huron River including Strawberry, Zukey, Gallagher, Whitewood and “Little Whitewood,” Long Lake, Baseline and Portage — will get some federal attention as U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin announced that she will be joining the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force to respond to the threat.
“It seems like every other week we hear of a new PFAS discovery in our state, Slotkin said. “We need to start to look at these incidents as more than random data points: it’s a growing trend that we need to address. Such a trend underscores my belief that we need to start thinking about environmental security the same way we think about homeland security, because it’s about the health and safety of our kids, and our way of life here in Michigan.”
The bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force is committed to helping bring the sense of urgency and legislative action required to respond to this issue.
“I’m particularly proud to be joining this bipartisan task force at a time of such partisan polarization,” Slotkin said, “and see it as a sign that there are some issues, like the health of our families, that transcend politics.”
The six Democratic candidates for seats on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners issued a letter to the board, urging it to get on top of the contamination in the community The candidates called on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners to begin an investigation into the extent of contamination in the county after the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality expanded the “do not eat” advisory to Ore Lake. Click here to read more.
The PFAS Task Force, co-chaired by Reps. Daniel Kildee and Brian Fitzpatrick, will work to bring PFAS clean-up to the forefront of the congressional agenda by holding informational events to educate Members of Congress and their staff, crafting legislation, meeting with committees and congressional leadership and fighting for more robust funding through federal appropriations.
