Great Lakes Wire

Peters Also Advocated for Continued Investments in the Great Lakes 

WASHINGTON, DC – During a Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) secured commitments for increased efforts to prevent the spread of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination and advocated for continued investments to protect and restore the Great Lakes.

Peters asked Administrator Regan to commit to ensuring that impacted communities and state agencies will be involved in PFAS cleanup decisions. Peters also asked Administrator Regan to commit to establishing new drinking water regulations for additional types of PFAS. In his response, Administrator Regan agreed to support both efforts.

“PFAS contamination exposure has devastated many communities in Michigan as well as across the country, and for far too long,” said Senator Peters during the hearing. “PFAS contamination, as you're well aware, is not just an environmental threat, but it’s a danger to public health and devastates local economies. And we have to do everything we can to address the impact of these toxic chemicals.”

Peters also highlighted his bipartisan Federal PFAS Research Evaluation Act to increase research to help inform decisions by the federal government, state governments, and other stakeholders on how to best address toxic PFAS chemicals. He and Administrator Regan agreed on the importance of continued efforts to study PFAS. 

Peters has led and championed many efforts to address toxic PFAS chemicals. In September 2018, Peters helped convene the first-ever hearing on PFAS contamination in the Senate, which assessed the federal government’s response to PFAS contamination and remediation efforts. He then convened a field summit in Grand Rapids in November 2018 to shine a light on how local, state and federal governments are coordinating responses to address PFAS contamination. Peters additionally convened a hearing in 2021 as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to examine how servicemembers, their families and communities across the country have been harmed by exposure to toxic PFAS substances connected to military sites. During the hearing, he raised the need to hold the DoD accountable for their failure to act. He also previously supported and led provisions in the national defense bill to prohibit DoD from purchasing or using firefighting foams containing PFAS chemicals for military training exercises, and enhanced state cooperation DoD to clean-up PFAS contamination stemming from military-related activities. 

Peters additionally introduced and advanced bipartisan legislation to reduce the spread of PFAS chemicals at commercial airports. The Preventing PFAS Runoff at Airports Act – which will deploy more existing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding for commercial airports to purchase devices necessary to test their firefighting equipment without discharging toxic PFAS chemicals – was signed into law last year. In 2022, Peters’ bill to help protect firefighters and emergency responders from PFAS exposure in the line of duty was also signed into law. 

To watch video of Senator Peters questions about PFAS, click here

In the same hearing, Peters also underscored the critical role of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in improving water quality and restoring Great Lakes habitats and waterways.

“Since 2010, the GLRI has provided over $2.9 billion dollars to fund over 6,000 projects throughout the Great Lakes region, including $762 million dollars for 880 projects in my state of Michigan,” said Senator Peters, who has advocated and secured historic levels of federal funding for the GLRI. “GLRI resources have been used to fund thousands of projects to restore and improve water quality, to protect native habitat, and prevent and control invasive species as well as other environmental problems we face.” 

To watch video of Senator Peters question about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, click here

Peters helped secure the single-largest-ever investment in the GLRI from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accelerate the cleanup and restoration by 2030 of nine high-priority areas in Michigan whose lakes, rivers and watersheds flow into our Great Lakes. In 2020, Peters authored the law to reauthorize and expand the GLRI – which has been critical for cleanup and habitat restoration efforts in the Great Lakes and surrounding waters. In 2019, Peters secured a bipartisan provision that was signed into law to provide the first increase in GLRI support in a decade.

Original source can be found here