Affected communities want more accountability and action from DOD to clean up forever chemicals

DECEMBER 9, 2021

WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, held a hearing today to examine how toxic Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) at military sites have impacted communities and service members.

Tony Spaniola, co-chair of the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network and a member of the Need Our Water (NOW) coalition, testified about the impact of the former Wurtsmith Air Force base in Oscoda on the community, where he owns a home on Van Etten Lake. The use of fire-fighting foam at the base led to PFAS contamination in the nearby Clark’s Marsh in the Huron-Manistee National Forest, as well as Van Etten Lake.

“The ongoing PFAS contamination has placed an enormous burden on our community,” said Spaniola. “Our local government has had to go into debt to fund municipal water line extensions that will take years to complete. Homeowners like me face the choice of paying expensive hookup fees or drinking bottled, or single-tap filtered, water. Signs warning of unsafe fish, wildlife, and the foam itself dot our forests and waterways, negatively impacting our tourism industry and, more importantly, the health of low-income individuals for whom nature is their primary source of food.”

Sean O’Donnell, Inspector General of the Department of Defense and Environmental Protection Agency, outlined a report issued by the Department of Defense Inspector General’s office and testified that the EPA and the DOD did not properly identify, communicate, or mitigate the effects of PFAS.

“We commend Senator Peters for holding this important hearing to hold the Department of Defense accountable for decades of inaction on cleanup of PFAS contamination here in Oscoda and across the country,” said Cathy Wusterbarth, leader of Need Our Water (NOW), Oscoda. “We must do a better job of holding the U.S. Air Force accountable for the toxic contamination they cause, and we will continue to push for real solutions for Oscoda and communities across our state.”