New PFAS site identified in Elk Rapids; no impacts to people expected

Jul. 23—ELK RAPIDS — A picturesque Lake Michigan shoreline village was announced among the latest communities to be home to a designated PFAS contamination site in northwest Lower Michigan.

An old industrial building on Bridge Street in Elk Rapids recently underwent a baseline environmental assessment when purchased by Elk Rapids Marina, a local business. Authorities found elevated levels of several PFAS-family chemicals there, but officials said no drinking water wells are expected to be affected.

Officials said expectations are that nearby Elk River, and Elk Lake behind it, won't be impacted by the groundwater contamination either despite the groundwater flowing that direction.

"We thought it was important for people to be informed and know this is out there," said Dan Thorell, environmental health director for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan.

Officials with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy classified the site as low-impact, which means there would likely not be any impacts to people.

PFAS sites that taint drinking water sources are prioritized by state regulators.

The building in Elk Rapids formerly was used as a tool and die facility from the 1950s to the 1980s, then as an antique shop and for retail. It's served as the watercraft facility since late last year.

Two groundwater monitoring wells at the business site showed five types of PFAS chemicals in one well, and a single type in the other. The testing was part of the baseline environmental assessment required by the building sale.

Records show the highest level discovered in one well was 160 parts per trillion of PFOS, a legacy manmade chemical now considered pollution at levels beyond 16 ppt by Michigan's threshold for cleanup. The second well showed only PFOS at 13 ppt — below the state limit.

"We don't expect at these levels to have a large plume," said Christiaan Bon, EGLE site lead for this newly discovered PFAS site.

PFAS is an acronym for thousands of manmade chemicals, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances such as PFOA and PFOS, which have been manufactured since the late 1940s. Special properties of the chemicals made them useful in a vast array of commercial and household products: Teflon pots and pans, stain-proof furniture and carpeting, waterproof clothing and outdoor gear, firefighting foam and more.

The manufactured chemicals resist breakdown in the environment and bio-accumulate, or build up, in living things. Scientists believe most humans have at least trace levels of PFAS in their bodies.

Thorell said as part of the response to the Elk Rapids discovery, state officials tested deep water wells at Burnette Foods across U.S. Highway 31, which showed no traces of PFAS chemicals in the groundwater pulled from beneath the region's underground clay layer.

Those monitoring wells are tested for PFAS annually, Thorell said, because they provide water used as part of food processing at the fruit and pumpkin canning company.

Bon said he does not expect Elk River and Elk Lake to be impacted by the PFAS site. Regardless, both will be sampled as part of the state's ongoing statewide surf- ace water testing effort which helps advise fish consumption guidelines, Bon said.

Elk Rapids Village Manager Bryan Gruesbeck said state officials determined no drinking water wells are expected to be harmed by the PFAS pollution, and municipal water service is widely used in the area. It's a relief nobody's drinking water was affected, he said.

Thorell wholeheartedly agreed.

"That is really good news," he said, though he said it's concerning any time PFAS is found in groundwater.

Officials with Elk Rapids Marina could not be reached for comment.

Baykeeper Heather Smith, of the Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay, said she expects more and more PFAS contamination sites will turn up as environmental regulators continue to seek them out.

"I think this just highlights how ubiquitous those hazardous chemicals are," Smith said. "I think we are just beginning to understand the magnitude of the problem. The more we look, the more we realize we have all these legacy contaminations and it's concerning."

The Elk Rapids site joins several others in the region identified by the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team. Others include Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, U.S. Coast Guard Station Traverse City, Pellston Regional Airport, Glen's Landfill in Leelanau County, the Carl's Retreading fire site in Blair Township, and multiple locations on and around Michigan Army National Guard land in Grayling Township.