Trump administration, GOP strip out PFAS standard, cleanup requirements from defense bill

Dec. 10--WASHINGTON -- Environmental groups and some members of Congress were howling Tuesday after some provisions to respond to the threat of PFAS chemical contamination in Michigan and elsewhere were stripped from a defense authorization bill.

A joint House-Senate committee late Monday released its compromise version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act and several provisions had been taken out. They included those requiring the Trump administration to set a health standard for PFAS in drinking water and require and help pay for cleanup of contaminated sites nationwide.

There is currently a standard of 70 parts per trillion that federal regulators use to advise states and water systems that continued exposure to PFAS may be hazardous to humans but no strictly defined standard that the U.S. government enforces.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, also saw a provision of hers that would have added PFAS to the list of contaminants that trigger cleanup under the federal Superfund program deleted, causing her to threaten Tuesday to vote against the bill. In July, President Donald Trump threatened to veto the legislation because he thought it went too far in addressing PFAS contamination.

"PFAS is a clear and present threat to Michigan and clean water... I was serious this fall, and again today, when I say I will not support any final defense authorization that does not include a comprehensive set of PFAS provisions, including mine requiring EPA to declare it as the hazardous substance we know it to be," Dingell said.

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, has also criticized the removal of provisions from the bill.

Both U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, who are members of the Armed Services committees in each chamber that wrote the bills, said the legislation, however, still contains key provisions to help reduce PFAS contamination, especially as it relates to military uses.

A measure pushed by Peters that the Defense Department limit its use of PFAS as a firefighting foam and phase it out altogether over the next five years was included, with the senator saying it will help "keep more PFAS from getting into the environment." Also included was a proposal, backed by Slotkin, that allows National Guard bases -- such as Selfridge in Macomb County -- access to Pentagon remediation funds currently only available to active-duty military bases.

"That's an immediate win for every single base in Michigan," said Slotkin, since there are no active-duty bases in the state anymore.

Peters acknowledged some key provisions were taken out, including requiring that a standard be set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration that would require intervention when it was exceeded.

"The Trump administration refused to budge on that issue," Peters said. "We saw a very aggressive intervention by the administration saying they did not want to go in that area."

Peters said the administration argued that it was not ready to adopt a standard until more study was done. "But it's hard to clean up a site when you don't know what standard to clean it up to," he said.

"We knew going into final negotiations that the White House was watching the PFAS provisions," added Slotkin. "(But) the fact that we kept anything in the bill related to PFAS is a big deal. It's definitely more than we had a year ago."

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- otherwise known as PFAS -- are so-called "forever" chemicals used for decades in firefighting foam at military bases, as well as in various consumer products from Teflon nonstick pans to ScotchGuard stain protectants and water-resistant shoes and clothing. In the environment and especially drinking water, however, they have been linked to cancers and other health problems.

Michigan has identified more PFAS-contaminated sites than any other state in the nation and regulators say there are roughly 70 in Michigan that exceed the EPA's health advisory limit of 70 parts per trillion. A health advisory limit does not require action, however, in the same way a health standard for a toxin would.

Scott Faber, an official with the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, said the defense authorization didn't go far enough, given that it still doesn't set a standard for reacting to the PFAS contamination or require the Pentagon to pay for cleanup.

EWG estimates there are more than 100 problematic PFAS sites in Michigan alone.

"While it's good news that the Defense Department will finally phase out PFAS in firefighting foam and food packaging, communities desperately need Congress to tackle industrial PFAS releases into the air and water and to require DOD to clean up legacy PFAS pollution," he said.

Peters and Slotkin, however, noted that the legislation does require the Defense Department to work with states to come up with individual remediation plans within a year or tell Congress a year from now why they were not able to do so.

The legislation is expected to pass in both the Democratic-controlled U.S. House and the Senate, which has a Republican majority, since it also includes numerous provisions deemed necessary for the military. They include a pay raise for service members and an end to the so-called "widow's tax," which keeps the families of active-duty military or retirees from receiving full benefits from both the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Contact Todd Spangler at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

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