11/19/2013 post on State Representative Jeff Irwin's website...
Dear Neighbor,
It is an honor and a pleasure to contact you once again as the state representative for the 53rd Michigan House District. Throughout the year, I will send regular updates to keep you informed about issues that affect the Ann Arbor area and our state. Please feel free to visit my website and contact my staff at (517) 373-2577 or JeffIrwin@house.mi.gov if you have any questions or concerns. In addition, be sure to “like” and “follow” me on your favorite social networking sites.
MDEQ Proposes Outdated Cleanup Standards
For the last few years the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has been working with stakeholders to update the state’s cleanup standards for contaminated sites. By law they are required to “evaluate and revise the cleanup criteria” using “best practices from other states, reasonable and realistic conditions, and sound science” by Dec. 313. The law is clear that revised rules must be based on the best available data and sound science; however, due to a lack of consensus, MDEQ recently submitted proposed rule changes that do nothing to update these standards.
Last week I attended a public hearing to express my concerns about these proposed changes and to request that MDEQ update the chemical toxicity data used to determine cleanup criteria. Without this change, the proposed cleanup standard for 1,4 dioxane remains at 85 parts per billion (ppb), despite the fact that toxicological data suggests that the standard should be set ten times lower in order to protect public health. This is especially important to residents of Ann Arbor as the plume of 1,4 dioxane contamination from the Pall Gelman site continues to spread. While we continue to enact cleanup efforts, the target contamination level of 85 ppb is outdated and dangerous.
I firmly believe that the current rulemaking process represents the best opportunity to implement more accurate standards. The purpose of the new rules is to update and revitalize the state’s regulatory environment while protecting public health. Failing to update chemical toxicity levels to the best available science achieves neither goal. Our community has been asking for a better cleanup and more protective standards for decades, and the MDEQ shouldn’t miss this chance to update the science behind the standards.
In addition to attending the public hearing, I also introduced legislation last week, House Bill 5171, that would require MDEQ to develop cleanup criteria based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended standards. The bill would also require MDEQ to update their numbers more regularly. This will not only protect public health when certain contaminants, such as 1,4 dioxane, are found to be more harmful than previously thought; it will also remove unnecessary burdens on businesses who are using outdated standards for chemicals now found to be less harmful. Given that we have limited resources to devote to environmental cleanup, it makes sense to direct them where they will do the most good.