LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Governor Snyder says the PFAS contamination in Parchment is a good example of why the state needs new fees on water bills and higher tipping fees at landfills to clean up abandoned and dirty plant sites and improve the water systems in communities around the state.
Snyder had Chamber of Commerce and the Farm Bureau officials at his side in Lansing, when he called on the State Legislature next week to increase those fees.
State Senator Mike Nofs of Battle Creek endorsed the idea.
But Nofs isn’t running for reelection and neither is Snyder and Republican lawmakers who are already facing an uphill battle this fall are not expected to go along.
The fees would eventually mean homeownerrs on municipal systems who pay for trash service would pick up alot of the costs.
The quick response to the discovery of PFAS in the water in Parchment triggered a sharp response from Rep. Sheldon Neeley of Flint who says Snyder is a little late to the game on the issue.
He points out that the Snyder administration sat on the fact that there was lead in the water in his hometown for two years before acting, and that Detroit Schools will start the year using bottled water because their plumbing is old and deteriorating, and the Governor’s office has done nothing.
He suggests it has something to do with the racial makeup of the different communities.
