Whitmer Joins Call for Investigation into PFAS Contamination

LANSING — Today, former Senate Democratic Leader and Ingham County Prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after reports revealed that warnings of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination in Michigan were made in 2012.

“Ignoring credible warnings of PFAS contamination is yet another example of how leaders like Governor Rick Snyder and Bill Schuette have put dollars and cents ahead of people’s lives. Michigan is home to more than 21 percent of the world’s fresh water, but right now dozens of sites across the state have been identified as being contaminated with PFAS. We cannot continue to ignore this administration’s failures to protect our drinking water. It’s time for a thorough investigation on why the Snyder administration suppressed the 2012 report.”

Whitmer has released a plan to create a Department of the Great Lakes and Fresh Water to protect Michigan’s drinking water. Whitmer will address PFAS contamination by restocking the Clean Michigan Initiative fund with the financial resources needed to address this man-made catastrophe, applying for grants to secure federal funding and holding polluters accountable for their mistakes. Funding will be used for clean-up efforts, home and utility filtration systems for Michigan residents and creating a statewide, publicly available database of all known groundwater resources and contaminated aquifer systems across Michigan.