The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is hosting the last two public hearings this week, on Jan. 14th and Jan. 16th on draft rules to regulate several types of fluorinated chemicals that may pose a health risk where they’re being found in public drinking water.

Those levels (in parts-per-trillion, or ppt) for seven compounds are: PFNA (6-ppt); PFOA (8-ppt); PFOS (16-ppt); PFHxS (51-ppt); GenX (370-ppt); PFBS (420-ppt); PFHxA (400,000-ppt).

Hearings on the state’s plan to regulate PFAS chemicals in drinking water began in early January. The remaining hearings are scheduled for:

– Jan. 14, Washtenaw Community College, Towsley Auditorium, Ann Arbor, 5 p.m.

– Jan. 16, Ralph A. Macmullan Conference Center, Roscommon, 5 p.m.

EGLE is accepting public comment on the draft rules until Jan. 31, 2020. Following the public comment period, the draft rules will return to the ERRC for additional review.

Comments can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to Suzann Ruch, Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division, Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, P.O. Box 30817, Lansing, MI 48909.

To read the MML’s public comment regarding our concerns with the draft rules from the October 31, ERRC meeting, see the link here: 19MML_ERRC10.31.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0309.