ROCKFORD, Mich. — Community activists want more done to address the PFAS being found in and around the Rogue River.
On Wednesday, a group of Rockford residents invited State Rep. David LaGrand to walk with them along the river, speaking about their current concerns.
“They knew the House Street dump was there, and they never told me ... they didn’t tell any of us,” said Sandy Wynn-Stelt, who found her blood had 750 times the national average for PFAS after her husband died of cancer. “I learned in 2017.”
A $54 million settlement was approved in September 2021, after a class action lawsuit was filed in 2017 by residents in Rockford against Wolverine Worldwide and 3M.
The city of Rockford was also awarded a $4.5 million grant in August 2021 to extend municipal water to homes dealing with PFAS contamination in private wells.
“I still worry about the contamination in there," Wynn-Stelt explained to LaGrand Wednesday.
"People aren’t aware of it ... because it's so beautiful, people come from all over the place."
LaGrand has been working with local activists for several years now, advocating for additional contamination cleanup.
“The first thing you have to do is name the problem ... have a discussion about wrapping your arms around it, defining the scope of a problem, or you're never going to deal with it," he told FOX 17.
“If we have known contaminants seeping into a river which feeds into Lake Michigan, that's not great. This is obviously something we have to deal with as soon as possible.”
He said Wednesday that he is optimistic that additional federal funds can be secured to further their efforts in the near future.
