Environmental Industry Updates
The Latest News on Scientific and Regulatory Updates from Merit Laboratories
The MDEQ has been directed by the governor to begin the process of creating PFAS drinking water standards. The MDEQ will file a Request for Rulemaking to establish maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). As part of the governor’s direction, the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) will form a science advisory workgroup to review health-based drinking water standards to support the rulemaking process and make recommendations by July 1.
The list continues to grow. The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team’s (MPART) list of sites where the MDEQ has confirmed detections of PFOA and PFOS in groundwater has grown by another 16 sites. The list now includes the following sites.
The United States Senate introduced legislation that would classify PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund (CERLCA/SARA). The legislation, if enacted, provides an enforcement and cost recovery tool for the U.S. EPA to track down polluters and hold them responsible for clean-up costs associated with PFAS contamination.
Last month, Merit Laboratories introduced you to the advisory report on the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations for Managing PFAS Contamination in Michigan. The report, authored by the Michigan PFAS Science Advisory Panel with support from state agency staff, provides a detailed look at Michigan’s PFAS contamination crisis.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its PFAS Action Plan for addressing the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) challenges facing the nation. The PFAS Action Plan addresses short-term solutions for addressing PFAS and long-term strategies that will help provide the tools and technologies needed to provide clean drinking water and address PFAS prevention and contaminant control at the source.
Congressional representatives from Michigan in the United States House of Representatives are leading the charge in the bipartisan creation of a PFAS Task Force in congress to address the national public health threat posed by PFAS substances. The PFAS task force is being led by Rep. Dan Kildee (MI-Flint).
A panel of scientists have released an advisory report on the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations for Managing PFAS Contamination in Michigan. The report is authored by the Michigan PFAS Science Advisory Panel with support from state agency staff. Over the next few months, Merit Laboratories will provide detailed overviews of this report to provide a close look at the scientific panel’s findings, studies, and recommendations.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued an update for the on-going investigation into PFAS contamination at the Wolverine Worldwide Tannery and House Street site in Rockford, Michigan. According to the update, the contamination comes from Wolverine Worldwide’s former tannery in Rockford and a waste dump known as the House Street Disposal Area in Belmont.
