A new bill in the Michigan Senate would create a statute for perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAs, contamination in state drinking water.
The bill would set enforceable standards for PFAs, which has been found in drinking water across the state and are linked to cancer among other health problems.
The EPA has a health advisory level for PFAs of 70 parts per trillion. This bill would set a state standard of 5 parts per trillion.
Democratic State Senator Winnie Brinks is the bill sponsor. She said it’s important to lower allowable PFAs levels.
“It would give cities and municipalities a very firm target and it would give all of us the certainty of knowing our health is protected and we have water we can trust at least when it comes to this contaminant.”
Brinks said a state standard could help communities like Oscoda, where the Air Force has said it can’t clean up contamination that isn’t higher than the EPA advisory level.
“If it’s a matter of state law there’s going to be that hammer they have they can use to persuade them and maybe obligate them to clean up the mess they caused.”
Brinks said she’s not clear how the bill would interact with legislation signed by Governor Snyder last year that tied DEQ standards to standards set by the EPA.
“We would have to basically figure out what hoops we need to jump through and what process needs to happen in order for us to make sure that this is one of those cases where we have a stricter than federal standard or in the absence of a federal standard we create our own.
The bill has just been taken up by the Senate committee on environmental quality.
Brinks introduced similar legislation in the House in 2017.