Michigan Attempting to Reduce PFAs in Wastewater Treatment Plants

The toxic fluorochemicals are polluting drinking water supplies throughout the state

March 22, 2018

2 min read

Environmental regulators in Michigan are attempting to significantly reduce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) in the state’s drinking water. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) will demand municipal sewage plants to report which companies provide industrial wastewater with the highest volume of PFAs.

PFAs are being found in large amounts throughout the state’s drinking water supply, and the treatment plants that service these various companies have been given a June deadline to properly identify the violators with PFAs in their wastewater, while also demanding a final report in October.

According to MDEQ environmental quality analyst Carla Davidson, plating and plastics companies are expected to be among the main perpetrators. This suspicion comes following when Lapeer Plating and Plastics were found to be the source of PFAs in a sewage plant’s discharge.

While significant steps will be made this year, Teresa Seidel, water resources director for MDEQ, only sees this as the beginning of a long process, citing the Clean Water Act as license for the MDEQ to halt PFAs from moving through their sewage plants.

“That’s really more of a beginning point,” Seidel said. “It’s giving wastewater plants an opportunity to see what’s in their systems and get it out.”

This news follows many recent water management developments for the state.