The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is holding the first of three public hearings this week on its plans to regulate several types of fluorinated chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in public drinking water.
The hearings take place on Wednesday, Jan. 8 in Grand Rapids; Tuesday, Jan. 14 in Ann Arbor; and Thursday, Jan. 16 in Roscommon. EGLE is taking public comment on the draft rules until Jan. 31, 2020.
The state began drafting maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs, this spring for seven different PFAS compounds following expert toxicology reviews that started in 2018.
Those levels (in parts-per-trillion, or ppt) for seven compounds are: PFNA (6-ppt); PFOA (8-ppt); PFOS (16-ppt); PFHxS (51-ppt); GenX (370-ppt); PFBS (420-ppt); PFHxA (400,000-ppt).
The standards would apply to about 2,700 water supplies in Michigan and establish sampling, public notification and laboratory certification requirements for public supplies that serve more than 25 people.
The regulations would not directly impact Michigan households which draw groundwater from a private well because the state lacks jurisdiction needed to require that homeowners test their own water.
Following public review, the draft standards return to a controversial oversight panel created last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has expressed concern about how the new regulations would affect toxic site cleanups in groundwater around the state.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants the new rules in place by summer.
The state tested about 1,380 public water systems and 460 schools, daycares and Head Start centers using well water last year. So far, testing has found PFAS chemicals at some level in public drinking water serving about 1.9 million people around Michigan.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), studies of humans exposed to PFAS exposure have shown that certain chemicals can affect the growth, learning, and behavior of infants and older children, lower a woman’s chance of getting pregnant, interfere with the body’s natural hormones, increase cholesterol levels, affect the immune system and increase the risk of cancer.
The Michigan drinking water rules proposal occurs amid a growing awareness of and response to PFAS contamination nationwide. Multiple states, including New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and California are in the process of developing similar state-level standards.
While drinking water standards are usually developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and adopted by states, the EPA isn’t moving fast enough on deciding whether or not to regulate the chemicals to satisfy numerous states, including Michigan.
The three public hearings are:
- Jan. 8, Grand Valley State University Eberhard Center, Grand Rapids, 5 p.m.
- Jan. 14, Washtenaw Community College, Towsley Auditorium, Ann Arbor, 5 p.m.
- Jan. 16, Ralph A. Macmullan Conference Center, Roscommon, 5 p.m.
Read the draft rule language here.
Comments can be emailed to: EGLE-PFAS-RuleMaking@Michigan.gov or mailed to Suzann Ruch, Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division, Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, P.O. Box 30817, Lansing, MI 48909.
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January 06, 2020 at 11:05PM
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Hearings on Michigan PFAS drinking water rules start this week - MLive.com
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