About Elissa Slotkin
Elissa has dedicated her career to serving the country she loves. A former CIA analyst who served three tours in Iraq alongside the U.S. military, Elissa then worked in national security roles at the Pentagon and White House under President Bush and President Obama. In the Obama Administration, she briefed the President on some of the most sensitive national security matters of the day and was eventually nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the Pentagon.
In 2018, Elissa was motivated to do more and ran for Congress, flipping a long time Republican-held seat and helping Democrats retake the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Elissa was re-elected to the House in 2020 and again in 2022 by delivering on the things that mattered the most to her constituents – expanding access to affordable healthcare, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and bringing critical supply chains and manufacturing back to Michigan.
In November 2024, Elissa was elected to serve Michigan in the U.S. Senate, succeeding Debbie Stabenow. In the Senate, Elissa will fight to expand Michigan’s middle class, create jobs with dignity, and keep our communities and children safe.
Resources
Transcription
Rebekah Warren: This is 89.1 WEMU. For more than three decades, Issues of the Environment has helped our community better understand the environmental issues impacting our lives, our health, and our future. I'm Rebekah Warren, and it is my honor to step into the role of host and continue a program that has earned the trust of listeners throughout our area. I'm especially grateful to David Fair, who created and guided this program for more than 30 years and whose commitment to thoughtful environmental journalism help make Issues of the Environment a trusted community resource. Today, we're looking at one of the most significant environmental challenges facing Michigan: PFAS contamination. Few environmental issues have affected Michigan communities more directly than these so-called forever chemicals, which have been found in our waterways, groundwater, and drinking water systems across the state. I'm joined today by United States Senator Elissa Slotkin, who has been leading efforts in Washington to preserve federal PFAS protections and accelerate cleanup efforts at contaminated military sites, including those around Michigan. Senator Slotkin, welcome!
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Thanks for having me! Happy to be here on your first show!
Rebekah Warren: Well, it is just an honor to have you with us! And, Senator, working on PFAS has long been a pillar of your legislative career, going back to your earliest days in Congress. You have aggressively and creatively continued this work from your seat on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee. Could you tell us some about the work that you've been focusing on in this area?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah! Well, thank you for focusing on this. You know, look, I think most Michiganders certainly after the Flint Water Crisis started to really care about and think about in a very real way what was in their drinking water. And PFAS is just a group of chemicals, the forever chemicals, they stay with you forever. I think, for me, I focus my attention on the areas around our former military bases where there's PFAS contamination, so that's Oscoda, with Wurtsmith Air Force Base, and Grayling, Michigan in particular. There's some other places, but those are certainly the center of gravity. And we fought really hard. A lot of people fought really to get the EPA under President Biden to set national drinking water standards on PFAS. We did that, and now the Trump administration is rolling it back. So, we're trying to make sure, particularly for the communities that live in Oscoda and Grayling, that they do not get the rug pulled out from under them and have all the plans for cleanup of basic things, like drinking water, to go by the wayside as the Trump Administration tries to get rid of these standards.
Rebekah Warren: Well, as you're pointing out, the administration has proposed some changes that would extend compliance timelines and reduce federal oversight for some of these PFAS compounds. Why do you believe those changes really matter? And why should our listeners be more educated?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Well, first of all, we want standards that are based on science, right? These EPA standards were finally updated after many, many years because they were just really out-of-date. There wasn't really sort of a recognition of how much we've learned about how dangerous these chemicals can be. So, we like science. And then, secondly, the military was basically saying, "Well, if the federal standards aren't high, then we're not going to clean up to those standards." And even though Michigan has state standards, the federal government was refusing to accept those standards. And they said, "Nope! We only deal with the federal." So, as the federal goes and the EPA goes, so goes the military cleanup in places like Oscoda and Grayling. So, that was really where the sort of rubber hit the road. And it has been a fight over many, many years to get the heads of the Air Force and the heads of the Army to actually recognize they have a responsibility to clean this stuff up.
Rebekah Warren: One of the themes that keeps coming up when we talk about PFAS is cost. Locally, the City of Ann Arbor occupies a uniquely hazardous position in this PFAS crisis as it relies on the Huron River as the source of roughly 85% of its municipal drinking water supply. And to protect local residents from drinking legacy, industrial pollution, the city was forced to take aggressive, multi-million dollar infrastructure measures, even before the federal mandates were conceptualized. So, the City of Ann Arbor has already invested millions in treatment infrastructure to keep drinking water safe, and maintaining those systems comes with ongoing cost. If the EPA lowers the bar and if the Pentagon delays cleanup, does the financial burden of removing financial chemicals shift from the federal government to local governments and water bill payers? And what thoughts do you have ultimately about who should be responsible for paying?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Certainly, everyone—drinking water in Ann Arbor and the whole area related to the Huron River—has gone through this. They've seen this movie over and over where stuff gets contaminated upstream and eventually comes into the drinking water in Ann Arbor, not just PFAS but other chemicals. And you're right. The local communities have been doing the right thing by their citizens and cleaning these things up, testing, making sure there's awareness and alerts and all that kind of stuff. But what we really need is a financial basis to cover some of those costs. Well, it turns out that the organizations that are polluting, right, the ones that are particularly repeat offenders, there's just not great laws in the state of Michigan to really go after repeat offenders. And we've had companies upstream on the Huron River who have been at fault for putting chemicals into the water that no one should be drinking multiple times. And there's not a lot of teeth to state laws. So, I think there's a real opportunity to have our state legislators push forward on some real consequences if you are a company that's a repeat offender on putting chemicals into the water. But then, this is why it's so important, again, to have this national standard because big organizations, like the Air Force and the Army, they have to put money in their budget to clean up to that standard. That's big money! We're talking like billions with a "B" across the country! So, it's part of the reason why we're fighting to keep those EPA standards because it unlocks a tremendous amount of money that these communities desperately need for remediation.
Rebekah Warren: I'm Rebekah Warren, and this is Issues of the Environment on 89.1 WEMU. We're talking with United States Senator Elissa Slotkin about PFAS contamination, drinking water protections, and what federal policy changes could mean for communities around Michigan. Senator, you obviously know and have referred to it as these PFAS chemicals called forever chemicals because they don't readily break down in the environment or in the human body. And bioaccumulated PFAS exposure is directly linked to kidney cancer, thyroid disease, immune suppression, meaning the long-term healthcare costs of poison water vastly outweigh the upfront costs of filtration. But additionally, Michigan has the unfortunate statistic of having some of the highest blood levels in the world for PFAS. I heard you quoted saying this. Senator, for listeners who may be hearing a lot about PFAS but aren't following every development, what is one thing that you wish every Michigan resident knew about this issue?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: I wish every single Michigander really checked in to how their water in their local community is doing. Ask the question of your local officials. Participate in keeping the water clean for your kids and your grandkids. We know that certain communities around the state are really activated on their drinking water, but others, it's kind of just not. It's not as big an issue. And if it were up to me, I think every Michigander would look into their drinking water standards and the health of their water in their local community because that kind of upward pressure is really what creates change and makes sure we have vigilance on the part of local officials on our drinking water.
Rebekah Warren: And as this debate continues in Washington, what should local communities, water utilities and residents be watching most closely over the coming months?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: You know, there's been a lot of discussion from the the Trump administration about health and what's healthy and the "Make America Healthy Again." How do you make America healthy again if you are going lower drinking water standards? That's the thing I don't understand. Many of us are interested in understanding what's in our food and what kind of dyes do we use and chemicals are in our agriculture products. But if you don't care what's in water, it's hard to make the case that you really care about the health of our kids. So, I think, moms, again, depending on where you are and how into it you are, people can write letters to their local officials, their congresspeople. I mean, it is undeniable, as a Senator from Michigan, that water issues are top of mind for Michiganders. You should sees the emails I get. You should see the calls that we get in my office. It is a regular topic I just want to make sure people are doing those same things for their local officials and for their members of Congress, their House members. Because when it comes down to it, we do have a say here at the federal level on laws related to the federal government. So, if there was a strong outcry the way I know I've been seeing it across the board, Democrat, Republican, Independent, you would see it very hard for them to change the EPA standards because they just won't want to cross the population. That's what we need to see.
Rebekah Warren: For listeners who might want to stay informed and engaged on this issue, would you have a recommendation to encourage them to look to where they could turn for reliable information?
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: Yeah. I mean, I certainly would go tool around on the EGLE website as a place where you can learn more about what your community is dealing with. I think your local unit of government, whether it's your town offices, your city offices, you can get more information about your own water. There are local groups. Certainly, the League of Conservation Voters is a group in the Ann Arbor area that's very active on preserving our lakes, our waters, our water sheds, and they've got good information. But I think it starts with informing ourselves. You know, it took Flint and really the apocalyptic poisoning of an American city that made national news that was declared a disaster, right, by the federal government. It took that to shake many Michiganders out of their stupor that our water is our responsibility, and we are the home of the water. And if we're not going to care and look into it, who is?
Rebekah Warren: Senator Slotkin, thank you for joining us and for the conversation today. That was U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin, our guest on Issues of the Environment. Today's conversation reminds us that PFAS may be a global environmental challenge, but its impacts are felt here locally in our rivers, our drinking water systems, and our neighborhoods. For more information on today's conversation and additional PFAS resources, visit us at WEMU.org. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it here every Wednesday. I'm Rebekah Warren, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
