Congressman Fred Upon on Wednesday addressed the House Subcommittee on the Environment and Climate Change as it discussed ways the federal government can respond to PFAS contamination in water systems around the county. Upton tells WSJM News recent experiences in Michigan have put the state at the forefront of the issue.
“We know in Michigan, here we’ve done more on PFAS to identify sites than any other state,” Upton said. “In fact, I would guess a lot of state really even don’t know what PFAS is, let alone where it might be.”
Upton says he is pushing a couple of bills that would help communities deal with PFAS.
“We’d like to get some bipartisan legislation moving forward because we know based on what’s happened here in Michigan, yes, there is a big risk here.”
Upton has introduced the PFAS Federal Facility Accountability Act of 2019, which would require federal agencies to cooperate with states as PFAS contamination is detected near federal installations like military bases. He’s also co-sponsored a bill to designate all PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances so the Environmental Protection Agency can clean up contaminated sites.