Rep. Todd Stephens (R., Montgomery), chairman of the Military Installation Remediation and Infrastructure Authority (MIRIA), presented a check on Monday for $1,432,917 to Horsham Water and Sewer to reimburse customers who paid surcharges for cleaning PFAS from their drinking water.
That money will be refunded to customers who paid surcharges. Customers who paid surcharges from the time they were imposed in 2016 through 2019 when they ended will receive approximately $190.
“After years of working to make ratepayers whole, we are finally able to reimburse water customers for the costs of cleaning PFAS from our drinking water,” Stephens said. “This was not their fault; the federal government created this problem. In the meantime, MIRIA will work to keep local tax dollars raised by the former military base here in our community to offset the cost of the damage done by those bases.”
In 2006, the federal government closed several military bases around the country, including the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Montgomery County. As a part of the process to transfer the land, the federal government discovered significant environmental issues, including contamination of the drinking water in some Montgomery and Bucks County communities caused by the use of firefighting foam with PFAS at the military installation.
In the absence of sufficient federal action, local governments were forced to impose surcharges on ratepayers to fund cleanup efforts.
The MIRIA was created by Act 101 of 2019, legislation written by Stephens to address the PFAS drinking water contamination left behind by the federal government at the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station.
See also:
Stephens Announces First MIRIA PFAS Grants Awarded
Stephens Thanks Businesses Who Have Filed To Keep State Taxes Local To Assist In Clean Water Efforts
Certification Deadline Looms For MIRIA Qualified Businesses
New PFAS Remediation Authority Receives Grant Applications For Clean Water
New PFAS Remediation Authority Gets to Work in Montco
