The Ross Township Board has been aware of PFAS monitoring in Richland Township for years. We remain in close contact with EGLE and the Health Department about their own groundwater monitoring wells in the Delmar/Littlefield area. I’ve had very thorough telephone conversations with EGLE and the Health Department occurring over several days since I was first contacted by EGLE on October 24th. It is imperative to have the facts directly from the source. While the whole township board is concerned, we have been reassured by the water and environmental specialists that there is no residential well data confirming risk, only that there is the potential for risk based on the shallow data EGLE has from their groundwater monitoring wells in that area. EGLE’s plan now is to collect samples from all residential wells in the area. Again, I have been assured by EGLE, “This does not equal municipal water at this point.” EGLE is in the data collection phase and will share results with well owners and local/state agencies as EGLE receives them. I requested copies of the letters EGLE will be mailing to affected residents and I do not have any letters yet. Once I have copies of the letters, a meeting at the township will be organized to put water and environmental experts before residents to answer questions directly. This information, while concerning to residents and to the Ross Township Board, is in the very early stages of action. The Ross Township Board remains committed to the demands of residents that municipal water is not desired. As residents are contacted and asked to have their wells tested, it is inevitable that misinformation will spread. Please know that I have had several telephone calls with both agencies directly leading this process, I have involved the township attorney, and the entire Board of Directors is also aware of this activity and the new approach to testing 59 individual residential wells.

Please bring questions to Ross Township for direct answers. Please stay tuned for open meeting dates with EGLE and the Health Department as well as the Township Board and legal counsel. We all plan to be accessible, supportive, and aggressively pursuing accurate information directly from the water quality experts on behalf of affected residents. The Ross Township Board is concerned that some public officials have jumped to conclusions ahead of sampling. Leaping to conclusions that residential wells are contaminated with PFAS without proof of tests is damaging and frightening. Please know that there is NO pursuit of public water in Ross Township by your Board of Directors. Please remember, that the ONLY way public water can be permitted in Ross Township is through your Board of Directors. We will obtain fact based results, we will openly support residents, and we will communicate full details when we have them, and only then will we determine the direction forward.

Christina Hutchings, Ross Township Supervisor