Nineteen municipal airports can use the grant funding for addressing PFAS contamination related to firefighting foam - money for PFAS testing and monitoring, potential source control and remediation strategies for groundwater and stormwater. Also, cleaning and replacement of firefighting equipment and gear.
Kent County’s Gerald R. Ford International Airport will receive $150,000.
In March 2018, the so-called “forever chemicals” were discovered in residential water wells near the airport, believed to originate from firefighting foam used at the airport for training purposes.
In September 2024, the airport received $300,000 from the federal government for field testing and measuring destruction technologies for assessing PFAS impacts.
Then in December, a Kent County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel seeking to force the Airport Authority to clean up surrounding soil and groundwater. The judge ruled the airport was in compliance with state rules and regulations.
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