This week, the Biden-Harris administration unveiled a nation-wide plan with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to combat per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which Michiganders are most at-risk for encountering in their drinking water. Michigan Democrats, under the leadership of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, have been leaders on this issue, and thanks to the Biden administration prioritizing this issue, even more help is on the way.
The EPA’s newest program created by President Biden, titled PFAS Roadmap, outlines three concrete steps that the federal government will take to eradicate PFAS including — holding polluters accountable, ensuring science-based decision-making, and addressing the impacts on disadvantaged communities.
“Every single Michigander deserves access to clean drinking water, clean air, and the ability to go outside without worrying about potential chemicals in the ground you’re walking on,” said Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Alyssa Bradley. “Under the previous administration, the federal government failed to adequately address PFAS chemicals as it affected the health of our most underserved communities in Michigan. Thankfully, President Biden is taking the threat of ‘forever chemicals’ seriously with this bold, strategic plan to test for, clean up, and eventually eradicate PFAS chemicals in our drinking water. By working with Governor Gretchen Whitmer on this plan, President Biden is once again delivering for Michiganders.”
The PFAS Roadmap will work to:
- Create a new national testing strategy, while continuing to update and expand previous assessments, focusing on toxicity and environmental detection;
- Develop and deploy analytical methods to prevent and address contamination of PFAS in meat and poultry;
- Conduct the first-ever inventory of PFAS use and releases from federal facilities;
- Identify and quantify the risks of PFAS to first responders;
- Review the rapidly evolving science on human health and PFAS; and
- Form the new Interagency Policy Committee on PFAS to help coordinate new policy strategies, remediation, and removal of PFAS in communities across the country.
Michigan has more PFAS sites than any state in the country. Once paired with the full Build Back Better agenda and Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, this plan has the opportunity to clean up the most contaminated area — Flint, Huron, Kent, Belmont, and Ann Arbor — and provide communities with the resources they need to provide access to clean air and drinking water.
