Today’s Talking PFAS News is focused on PFAS in Michigan, Great Lakes, and also some new pending legislation that could result in stricter rules for the US military regarding PFAS. My special guest is Award Winning investigative/enterprise environment reporter Garret Ellison from MLive and Grand Rapids Press in Michigan. Today we discuss three of his recent stories, and because of Garret’s extensive PFAS reporting, he will also be the special guest in the next Talking PFAS Feature which will publish on June 17, 2021. In today’s episode we only have time to briefly mention that in April, 2021 3M filed a lawsuit against the State of Michigan which seeks to invalidate their new drinking water and groundwater clean-up limits for PFAS. In Talking PFAS Feature Garret talks much more about the 3M lawsuit as well as many other PFAS contamination issues in the Michigan and Great Lakes area.

For today’s show notes I am publishing links to three of Garret’s articles (with short excerpts) published by MLive and used with Garret’s permission. It might be useful to have Garret's articles open as you listen today.

Links & Excerpts to articles in today’s discussion by Garret Ellison, content used with permission

“It’s literally raining PFAS around the Great Lakes, say researchers.” June 8, 2021

“CLEVELAND, OH — Rain that fell on Ohio this spring contained a surprisingly high amount of toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to raw data from a binational Great Lakes monitoring program that tracks airborne pollution.

Rainwater collected in Cleveland over two weeks in April contained a combined concentration of about 1,000 parts-per-trillion (ppt) of PFAS compounds. That’s according to scientists at the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN), a long-term Great Lakes monitoring program jointly funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Canada.” Source Garret Ellison MLive gellison@mlive.com

“Two Michigan air bases on “Filthy Fifty” Senate PFAS priority list.” June 9, 2021

“WASHINGTON, DC — Two former Air Force bases in Michigan are on a “Filthy Fifty” list of sites where the U.S. Defense Department would have to expedite cleanup of toxic “forever chemical” contamination under new Congressional legislation.

Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda and K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula are among priority installations with toxic PFAS pollution marked for speedier cleanup under the bill package, which allocates $10 billion for remedial work nationwide and puts the Pentagon under a deadline schedule to complete construction.

“Filthy Fifty Act” and “Clean Water for Military Families Act” were introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, June 8. The bills were introduced by Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, representing the two states with the most bases on the list.” Source credit Garret Ellison MLive gellison@mlive.com

“3M sues Michigan, seeks to invalidate PFAS drinking water rules” May 7, 2021

“LANSING, MI — Minnesota chemical manufacturing giant 3M has sued the state of Michigan, claiming the state’s new drinking water limits for the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS are flawed because they were created through a “rushed and invalid regulatory process.”

The lawsuit, filed in the state Court of Claims on April 21, seeks to invalidate the state’s drinking water limits and groundwater cleanup criteria for seven different per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that went into effect last summer.”