With more communities battling chemicals in their water, Democratic lawmakers say it’s time to hold hearings on PFAS. Those are compounds in a family of chemicals that could be harmful to people’s health.
A city in Kalamazoo county can’t drink its water right now – and it’s not the first community in Michigan plagued by PFAS. Democrats say it’s up to the state to fix this emerging crisis.
Democratic Representative Winnie Brinks says the hearings are necessary, in part, to educate lawmakers about this new chemical.
“So that they can do what they are constitutionally obligated to do, which is to protect the health and wellbeing of their constituents. But also to protect our natural resources.”
Senate Republican leader, Arlan Meekhof, says he’s open to hearings – but right now he is focused on the immediate need of getting safe water to people who need it.