IOSCO COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — A northern Michigan school district will be receiving a grant to make sure they have safe drinking water for the upcoming school year.
On Monday, Congressman Dan Kildee announced the Oscoda Area Schools will received the $50,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The money will help pay to change the school’s water source and connect it to an existing Au Sable Township water main after Per- and Polyfluroalkyl Substances (PFAS) were found near the school’s current water supply.
“Ensuring my constituents, including Oscoda residents, have access to clean drinking water is one of my top priorities in Congress.
“We must do more to urgently address PFAS contamination, as well as provide safe drinking water to those affected.” Officials found plumes of PFAS were recently found on Oscoda Area Schools’ River Road campus, putting the school well in danger of being contaminated if the plumes moved.
Reports show Congressman Kildee has repeatedly pushed the Trump Administration and all levels of government to more urgently address PFAS contamination across the country.
In July, Kildee and Congressman Fred Upton lead a bipartisan letter calling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen protections fore PFAS in drinking water.
Earlier this year, Kildee testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Veterans’ Affairs Committee to urge the DoD and Congress to do more to clean up toxic contamination, including around former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda.
Additionally, Congressman Kildee, along with Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, worked to include language authorizing a health study on PFAS exposure in the National Defense Authorization Act, which became law in December 2017.
In March 2018, the three lawmakers successfully included funding to address ongoing drinking water contamination issues in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill.