GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A series of meetings will start Wednesday with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to take public comment on how they should handle PFAS pollution in water.

The meeting will be in the L.V Eberhard Center at Grand Valley State University’s downtown campus from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

EGLE is set to propose new rules, tightening the maximum contaminant levels for seven different PFAS compounds in drinking water. This will establish new standards, sampling requirements and public notification protocols.

News 8 spoke with an expert who says he’s happy to see EGLE move forward, saying it’s important to have tight standards that are up to date and can be enforced.

“There was quite a bit of thought put into those numbers and I think they reflect the state of the science pretty well,” Dr. Richard Rediske, a Professor of water resources at GVSU, said. “It’s not the same as designating them as hazardous, but its moving in that direction where we are looking at these compounds as serious threats to environmental and public health.”

EGLE will also host meetings in Ann Arbor and Roscommon.