State aid hike for vapor cleanup called inadequate

Lansing – Gov. Rick Snyder is poised to sign a $56.7 billion budget that includes more money to address potentially dangerous chemical vapors, a problem of unknown reach in Michigan that can leach into people’s homes through their basements.

The $300,000 or 23 percent bump to $1.6 million for vapor intrusion approved by the state House and Senate is far less than the $2.6 million that Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Heidi Grether requested in February.

At the time, Grether told lawmakers that as many as 4,000 locations in Michigan and many in Metro Detroit might host chemical vapors that can rise from the ground of former industrial or commercial sites into nearby homes. Grether called the issue a “significant public health threat.”

“We’re concerned that this could pose a significant public health threat,” Grether said then. “So we need additional staff and resources to evaluate the sites” and start mitigation projects where necessary.

Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/23/state-aid-vapor-chemicals/103144112/