As new, stringent limits on PFAS “forever chemicals” contamination officially take effect across Michigan on Aug. 3, 2020, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly), Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Director Liesl Clark, and Michigan League of Conservation Voters President Lisa Wozniak marked the milestone, and discussed how Slotkin’s House-passed legislation would give those new state standards force at the federal level.
“Today is a big day when it comes to the issue of water quality and PFAS,” Slotkin said during the press conference. “These rules have been highly anticipated and we’re extremely glad to mark their arrival. And my legislation that we recently passed in Washington, if the Senate follows through, will give these new, Michigan standards real teeth at the federal level.”
Slotkin’s legislation, which passed the House within the annual defense budget last month, would require the Pentagon to follow Michigan’s new standards, some of the most stringent in the nation, in its PFAS clean-up in and around military installations. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, Slotkin’s measures would eliminate the need for drawn-out negotiations between the state and the military over whether to abide by the weak, federal life-time advisory, or by the stricter, state limits on PFAS contamination.
“The amendment would simply say to the Pentagon, ‘You have to abide by Michigan’s PFAS standards, since they are the strictest standards applicable,’” Slotkin said. “And beginning today, those standards are some of the toughest in the nation.”
“We’re proud to have worked with science and health experts from around the country, as well as citizens and utilities around the state to come up with some of the nation’s most comprehensive and scientifically defensible standards limiting PFAS in drinking water,” said Liesl Clark, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. “These new rules today deliver on Governor Whitmer’s call last year to protect Michiganders from these chemicals. They are practical, science-driven and, most importantly, protective of public health. This is an important milestone for Michigan’s drinking water.”
“These standards make Michigan a national leader on protections against PFAS –– this is a big deal,” said Lisa Wozniak, Executive Director of Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “Studies show that exposure to PFAS is linked to a number of things, including autoimmune issues, which, in the era of COVID, is a large problem. So now more than ever, these strong standards to protect ourselves and our families, our children, our neighbors, represent a bold and important move from Michigan.”
“Congresswoman Slotkin’s expertise and her role on the Armed Services Committee has been invaluable as we work to deal with PFAS contamination from U.S. military operations in particular,” Wozniak added. “The provisions that she has been able to secure in the annual defense budget have, for the first time, required the Pentagon to do more on PFAS than simply continue to study the problem. In fact, the Congresswoman’s provisions sync up neatly with our new state-level drinking water standards, requiring the Pentagon to clean up PFAS based on Michigan’s new standards.”
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Slotkin has played a leading role in securing tough measures on PFAS that have passed in this and last year’s National Defense Authorization Act.
• In last year’s NDAA, Slotkin passed into law six key provisions to address PFAS contamination, including a measure that requires the EPA to include PFAS, for the first time, among the chemicals municipalities must test for in drinking water.
• This year’s NDAA passed the House last month with several PFAS provisions Slotkin fought to include in the bill, including one that would apply Michigan’s new, strict standard on PFAS contamination to Pentagon PFAS cleanup.
• Slotkin secured historic funding to fight PFAS included that passed the House in the FY21 Defense Appropriations bill last week. Slotkin advocated for this funding in April, leading 81 other members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in asking House appropriators to provide robust funding to address PFAS contamination.
