Michigan to receive federal funding to mitigate PFAS in water systems

K.I. SAWYER, Mich. (WLUC) - Wednesday morning, the Biden administration announced $1 billion is going towards a PFAS drinking water standard and $19 million of that is coming to the state of Michigan.

PFAS are called forever chemicals because they take a thousand years to break down and have been linked to health problems. There are currently 19 locations across the U.P. affected by PFAS. National Climate Policy Advisor Ali Zaidi said the funding will help local communities across Michigan.

“It’s an important time to be doing this work in Michigan. It’s an important time to be doing this work all across the country. Because we have access to the facts, we know what the science tells us and it moves us, it compels us to take action to protect our communities,” Zaidi said.

One of the PFAS-contaminated sites in the U.P. is the K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. An investigation from the Air Force in 2016 identified 13 contaminated sites around the facility. Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport Manager Duane DuRay said this money is vital to the facility.

“We at the K.I. Water Department, if there is funding available to assist us in some of the testing processes, we would be the first to ask for that additional funding,” DuRay said.

DuRay said the Air Force has been undergoing further investigation to determine the number of contaminants. DuRay said there will be public meetings to discuss the latest findings later this year.

“Every year they implement two of these public meetings and I suspect this coming year they will continue that process. The Air Force will be updating the general public on the levels of contamination,” DuRay said.

Duray said the drinking water in the area remains uncontaminated, but testing will always be performed.