On September 1st, Senator Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) introduced a bill that would create a state ban on the use of PFAS, bisphenols, or phthalates in food packaging. The bill was also sponsored by Democratic Senators Winnie Brinks (Grand Rapids), Sean McCann (Kalamazoo), and Stephanie Chang (Detroit), all of whom are progressive on environmental issues and represent districts impacted by PFAS.

Please click here for more information and a copy of SB 1072

On Friday, August 21st, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she had filed a pair of lawsuits in state and federal courts against alleged manufactures of firefighting foam containing PFAS. These suits are a follow-up to the earlier suit filed in January against 17 chemical manufacturers, which had specifically excluded AFFF-related damages from the claim.

Like the January suits, the most recent claims were filed by a group of private law firms, including DC-based Fields PLLC, Chicago-based DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC, and Cincinnati-based Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL. The firms are working on a contingency basis with compensation ranging from 10 to 20% of any damages awarded.

This week, EGLE’s Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) published a report, “Identified Industrial Sources of PFOS to Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants” that summarizes the findings from its industrial pretreatment program PFAS initiative to this point. Together with wastewater treatment plants around the state, EGLE has surveyed industrial users for potential sources of PFOS, for which EGLE has a water quality standard of 12 ppt.