State Rep. Beth Griffin today issued the following statement on the latest findings of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) announced Friday:

“The results of this study confirm what Parchment and many Cooper residents already know— the water in their home was unsafe and they needed a plan to restore their quality of life. Thanks to MPART and our local officials, residents were quickly switched off the affected water and received bottled water and filters until they could be hooked into Kalamazoo City water.

Last year, I worked to secure the funding for an important study, allowing Michigan to lead the way in detecting unknown threats to our water supply. These findings will play a critical role in better understanding and containing PFAS compounds and creating a timeline for cleanup. There is still much to be done to protect and conserve Michigan families’ water supply, and I will be there to help find permanent solutions and fight for them every step of the way.”

The findings are the final results of a first-in-the-nation statewide testing undertaken by MPART to survey the safety and condition of state drinking water supplies.

Griffin led the way in securing funding for the statewide study in last year’s supplemental budget and, this term, has continued to press state and federal partners for assistance in managing PFAS contamination.