A bipartisan Congressional bill introduced by a pair of Michigan legislators would dedicate $50 million to finding sites across the United States that may contain PFAS.
The new legislation would fund the U.S. Geologic Survey, funding a search for the chemicals in water, soil and air.
Identifying where the chemicals exist is a first step toward cleaning up contamination, the legislators said.
Multiple states are confronting PFAS contamination, including at closed military installations.
Estimates from the Environmental Work Group this year suggest up to 110 million Americans have some PFAS in their drinking water.
They’ve also contaminated both ground water and surface water, creating public health concerns.
In Michigan, that includes one municipal water plant shutdown and thousands of people using either in-home water filters or bottled water.
The most recent House bill resembles a bill introduced into the U.S. Senate in August.
A related bill introduced in the Senate at the same time was called the PFAS Accountability Act, which seeks to expedite cleanups at federal sites.
Kildee’s office said that’s expected to happen, but offered no timing plan.

Caption + Show MoreShow Less More than half of Colorado remains in the grip of drought classified as severe to exceptional , and the state would need more snow than this winter’s predicted El Niño is likely to deliver to provide much relief, scientists say.
About 83 percent is in some stage of drought and 13.35 percent of the state, mostly in the southwest corner, is in exceptional drought.
+3 Caption + Show MoreShow Less Stream flows in the southwest portion of the state also are much below normal, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Thirteen streamflow stations between Mesa and Archuleta counties were reported as much below normal compared to historic levels, three as below normal and five as normal.
The dearth of water is obvious in Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Colorado.
The data paints an even more startling picture: the reservoir is at 43 percent of its average capacity recorded between 1985 and 2016.
+3 Caption + Show MoreShow Less Downstream, Lake Powell made headlines earlier this year when it dropped to less than half full.
This year was the second driest year on record for the major reservoir in Arizona, lagging just behind 2002.
To fully lift the Four Corners out of the drought by June, the region would need to receive 173 percent of normal precipitation, NOAA models show.
+3 Caption + Show MoreShow Less "We entered winter a bit early" Fontenot said.

RAPID CITY, SD — Dan Soeder, director of the Energy Resources Initiative at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, has co-authored the cover article titled “When oil and water mix: Understanding the environmental impacts of shale development,” in the September 2018 issue of GSA Today, a magazine published by the Geological Society of America.
The article explores what is known and not known about the environmental risks of fracking with the intent of fostering informed discussions within the geoscience community on the topic of hydraulic fracturing, says Soeder.
Soeder’s co-author is Douglas B. Kent of the United States Geological Survey.
In this paper, Soeder and Kent bridge the gap in consensus regarding fracking, providing current information about the environmental impacts of shale development.
The article is open access and adheres to science and policy, presenting a complicated and controversial topic in a manner more easily understood by the lay person.
"Geoscientists from dinosaur experts to the people studying the surface of Mars are often asked by the public to weigh-in with their opinions on fracking.
A great deal has been learned in the past decade, but there are still critical unknowns where we don’t yet have answers," Soeder says.
Bringing together experts in regional energy issues, Soeder and ERI will also host the New Horizons Energy Conference Oct. 25-26, at the Surbeck Center on the campus of Mines.
The first day of the New Horizons Energy Conference includes a full day of technical presentations and student posters, a panel discussion on energy policy followed by a reception at Paleontology Research Laboratory at SD Mines.
A short course from the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council will also be offered.

Where does the water come from?
Where does the water go?
When there a few wells that draw a lot of water, that natural system can be compromised by pulling too hard on too few wells.
Belle Plaine has a lot of area along the river to draw water, and not a lot of development in that area.
As for where the water goes, a hearing was held on the status of the city’s ultraviolet disinfection and flow equalization project additions to the water pollution control facility improvement project, or the sewer plant project.
They are looking at state funding to get an architectural study of the historic building.
The group needs all of the funding it can get right now, Pope said.
Council member Judy Schlesselman asked about sticking to the dates that were in the resolution passed by the city council earlier this winter.
Pope felt they were covering this with the monthly updates.
The city hope to update the resolution with new deadlines and dates.

This map shows the number of wells on a county level that are likely contaminated with high levels of arsenic.
Many states keep tabs on arsenic in water wells, but normally in places where the chemical is already known to be a problem.
Rain patterns and how water flows through these rocks can release arsenic from their earthen homes and into a water well.
Ayotte’s team used USGS and other databases to compile arsenic measurements from 20,450 wells in the U.S. Map courtesy of Joseph Ayotte What they found: The USGS model, published in Environmental Science & Technology, predicts 2.1 million people drink from wells with arsenic at greater than 10 micrograms per liter of water, which is the maximum contaminant level allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Overall, 44.1 million in the conterminous U.S. rely on wells for their water.
States like Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts registered high levels of arsenic on the map.
“I wish I knew why U.S. domestic well water quality is not regulated to meet the same drinking water standards as for other types of water supplies,” said Zheng, who has conducted regional studies of arsenic in water wells in the U.S., China and Bangladesh, where she was formerly a water and sanitation specialist with UNICEF on arsenic mitigation projects.
Her research leads her to believe the most effective way to reduce arsenic exposure and protect human health is a national screening program in the form of individual tests at domestic wells.
It offers a sense of where arsenic might be, but people will not know for sure if their wells are contaminated unless they test.
Once detected, arsenic can be removed through common water filters, but even this simple technological fix might be cost prohibitive in rural areas where water wells dominate.

Northern Alabama Removed From Drought Advisory.
Every site in Norther Alabama and Southern Tennessee monitored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is flowing at a rate near or above average.
The consistent rainfall this week has been good for our water systems, which have spent the year recovering from the 2016 drought.
Overall, our water systems are doing so well that The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs finally lifted the Drought Advisory over Northern Alabama on May 24th.
In the last seven days Huntsville has received 2.34 inches of rain.
That leaves us with a rainfall deficit of 2.76 inches.
Huntsville’s deficit a week ago was 4.71 inches.
That means we took out 66% of the deficit in one week.
We’ll likely continue to chip away at the deficit for the rest of May.
We could see another 2 inches of rain by next Wednesday!