OSCODA, Mich. (AP) - Three members of Congress are asking the U.S. Air Force to move faster on removing chemical contamination around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan.
Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Senator Gary Peters and Rep. Dan Kildee made the request in a letter, noting that Congress recently boosted funding for cleaning up military installations tainted with chemicals commonly known as PFAS.
The chemicals are used in firefighting foam. They’ve been detected in groundwater beneath and beyond the former base - and in nearby surface waters.
Crews are installing carbon filter systems in two spots to treat the polluted water.
Stabenow, Peters and Kildee say more filters are needed.
Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality says a complete cleanup would cost at least $180 million.
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