Steve Johnson
High concentrations of chemicals known as PFAS have been found in the drinking water of 38 Michigan communities.
The state of Michigan has yet another major water crisis on its hands. The Flint water crisis of 2014 is still unresolved, and this new water problem, which afflicts other states as well, forces us to ask the uncomfortable question: Is our government truly committed to ensuring clean drinking water for the public?
The latest disaster involves chemicals known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) or what are commonly called “forever chemicals,” and are found in a wide variety of products including cosmetics, non-stick pans, firefighting foams, and food packaging. While several big producers agreed over a decade ago to phase out their use of the chemicals, of course, the toxic substances persist. High concentrations have shown up in some thirty-eight Michigan communities as well as Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York and North Carolina. Governor Rick Snyder declared an emergency in at least one Michigan community, and more site investigations are underway.
This latest water crisis in Michigan is just more evidence that the nation’s water supply needs to be given more attention by government officials.
According to a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality report, recently obtained by MLive via a FOIA request, the waters surrounding Michigan suffer from “widespread contamination” by these PFAS, with serious potential health risks to the public. The report was completed in 2012 but state agency buried it.
Unfortunately, while the public and clean water advocates are greatly concerned about the condition of the nation’s water supply, government officials do not apparently feel the same level of concern. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder did act quickly to declare the PFAS state of emergency, but the legislature is dragging its feet on setting a safe drinking water standard.
The Trump administration continues a brazen attack on clean water laws that could impact the sanctity of water supplies.
Nationally, the Trump administration continues a brazen attack on existing clean water laws that could also impact the sanctity of water supplies. The former agency administrator, Scott Pruitt worked diligently while in office to gut the EPA’s Clean Water Rule, established in 2015 under the Obama administration. Without a strong government commitment to clean and safe drinking water, the public is left to the goodwill of the profit driven corporate sector.
Some courts have resisted the Trump Administration’s efforts to decimate the nation’s clean water rules. In August 2018, a federal District Court in South Carolina issued an injunction against the Administration’s effort to delay full implementation of the 2015 rule. That court ruling effectively made the waters of the U.S. “the law of the land” in twenty-two states. In the other states, litigation and injunctions against the rule continue to delay full implementation of the 2015 rule and still endanger our clean water laws.
But regardless of how the actual legal struggle will unfold, the question remains: Are we as a society committed to delivering clean and safe drinking water to the public? How this question is answered by public officials in the coming months will decide the future of clean water in Michigan, and the U.S.