(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/25/2023) Sandy Wynn-Stelt, co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network, said her story in environmental advocacy began in 2016, when her husband, Joel, passed away from liver cancer.
"It was the following year I learned he had been drinking contaminated groundwater from the Wolverine World Wide dump.”
Wynn-Stelt, who spoke at a press conference where Democratic legislators announced a bicameral package of “polluter pay” bills, said her community's case of PFAS contamination, which impacted 25 square miles, spurred her to learn more about Michigan’s environmental regulations and resulted in “reluctant, begrudging activism.”
“I didn't want to do it, but somebody had to,” she said. “There is no reason under the sun why my husband should have died… (so) a company could make profit, and there is no reason under the sun why the children in my neighborhood and other neighborhoods throughout Michigan are breathing poor air and drinking bad water so that shareholders can have good dividends.
“You can't be drunk enough to make this story make any sense,” she said.
Wynn-Stelt said after her husband passed away, she had her own blood tested, paying $800 out of pocket and finding out she had developed thyroid cancer.
“I was able to get surgery and hopefully, knock on wood, will be moving forward," she said. “I mean, I'm pretty much flame resistant.”
Wynn-Stelt was joined by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) and Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor), who are lead sponsors of legislation in the Senate and the House to address and confront Michigan's contamination problems.
Another day putting forward major pieces of legislation for the people of Michigan! pollutersmustpay michiganpic.twitter.com/xwguKAjtQx
— Jason Morgan (he|him) (@JasonMorganMI) October 24, 2023
Irwin said the goal of the legislation is to improve the state of Michigan's environmental cleanups, increase transparency around Michigan pollution and prevent the addition of more orphaned contaminated sites to our “state’s large inventory.”
He said Michigan currently has around 27,000 contaminated sites, and more than 13,000 of them are abandoned orphan sites, meaning “not only are they leaving that expense for our taxpayers, but they’re also leaving that pollution behind for the neighbors to deal with.”
Morgan had a number closer to 24,000, which was seconded by a March 2022 report by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).
Irwin's SB 605 , mirrored by Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth)’s HB 5247 , gives EGLE and the public more information about cleanups and polluted sites through the requirement of environmental assessments and action plans.
“Many people in Michigan don't know that there's an element of our law that allows a polluter to never tell the state about the pollution and just work on it on their own,” he said. “We need to end the secret cleanups.”
Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield)’ SB 606 , along with Morgan’s HB 5242 , requires polluters to pay for land and water restoration to usable condition as much as is technically feasible, so that restricting access to polluted areas does not substitute for cleanup.
Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit)’s SB 607 , along with Rep. Noah ARBIT (D-West Bloomfield)’s HB 5245 , enables EGLE to set cleanup criteria, in an attempt to ensure state standards aren’t usurped by federal ones.
Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor)’ SB 608 , mirrored by Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing)’s HB 5246 , requires businesses with large amounts of potentially polluting materials to provide up-front financial assurance to cover any future potential cleanups.
“We should give EGLE the authority to identify sectors that are likely to leave behind orphan sites, and require them to have bonding or insurance, some sort of backstop so the taxpayers are not left holding the bag,” he said, “and so that those neighbors have some assurance that that site could get cleaned up.”
Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo)’s SB 609 , accompanied by Rep. Cynthia Neeley (D-Flint)’s HB 5243 , allows the state to bring claims on behalf of the public to cover cleanup costs and natural resources damages due to contaminants not known to be harmful at the time the limitation period expired for other contaminants.
For substances that were not regulated as hazardous before July 1, 1994, like PFAS, the limitation would be within six years after initiation of physical on-site construction activities.
Sen. Sue SHINK (D-Ann Arbor)’s SB 610 , along with Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit)’s HB 5241 , enables people exposed to hazardous substances to bring a claim against the polluter for the costs of medical monitoring needed to detect a condition linked to the exposure.
Morgan said current law provides no resources for people exposed to contamination until after they’re diagnosed with something, and Wynn-Stelt said this piece of the legislation especially resonates with her.
Finally, Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak)’s SB 611 , along with Rep. Phil Skaggs (D-Grand Rapids)’ HB 5244 , sets the limitation period for plaintiffs harmed by pollution at the time that they discover the existence of the claim, which Morgan said will be a fairer system.
Wynn-Stelt said this legislation is common sense, and she doesn’t know how you argue against holding people accountable.
“Every three-year-old in the state this morning learned, if you make a mess, you clean it up,” she said.
Upon being introduced, the bills were supported by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, Great Lakes Business Network and Traverse City nonprofit For Love of Water (FLOW).
Executive Director Liz Kirkwood called the bills a long overdue step towards protecting Michigan’s groundwater resources and public health.
"These bills will not only spur cleanup of historic contamination sites, but also serve as a powerful deterrent to future contamination," Kirkwood said. “If potential polluters know they will have to contain their spills and clean them up rather than leave contamination in the ground, they’ll take measures to reduce the risk of significant liability."
She said current law, which allows owners of contaminated sites to secure groundwater bans limiting human exposure, has resulted in EGLE recording 4,244 land use restrictions at 3,430 sites as of Aug. 22, for a total surface area of 66,332 acres.
The Senate version of legislation was referred to the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, while the House bills have not yet been posted.
