Years after the Flint water crisis drew national attention, another water pollution issue has emerged in House races in Michigan.
Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency in Kalamazoo County after drinking water in the town of Parchment tested at over 20 times the EPA’s health advisory limit for two forms of PFAS — PFOS and PFOA — which were phased out of production in 2000 amid concerns over their risks to human health.
The state so far had found at least 38 sites, including public drinking water utilities, rivers and streams, with high concentrations of PFAS, according to the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, a multiagency program started in November 2017 to address the problem.
“PFAS, like the Flint water crisis — they’re both examples that make it clear elections matter,” said Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee, whose district includes Flint and whose midterm race is rated Solid Democratic by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.
Of 38 sites the state deemed contaminated by the chemicals, 23 are in GOP-held districts.
Two midterm contests in nearby GOP-held districts are rated Toss-ups by Inside Elections: the 11th District, where Democrat Haley Stevens and Republican Lena Epstein are vying to replace Republican Dave Trott, who’s not running for re-election, and the 8th District, where Democrat Elissa Slotkin is challenging incumbent Republican Mike Bishop.
“People are demanding access to clean water.” Democratic turnout in the state’s primary election, held less than two weeks after Kalamazoo County’s contamination was first announced, may be evidence of how PFAS is animating voters, especially in districts with contamination sites, he said.
Other GOP-held congressional districts with contamination sites found in the last year saw similar jumps, including Amash’s.
“When you have folks in Detroit and Flint struggling to have access to clean drinking water, and you have folks in Plainfield Township and [others] grappling with the same issue, it doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican,” said the League of Conservation Voters’ Allison.
The separate PPP poll found him within 4 points.