GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A Kent County judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the Gerald R. Ford International Airport by the state of Michigan, which sought cleanup and recovery of costs related to PFAS contamination from the facility’s use of firefighting foam.

In a Nov. 24 order, Kent County Circuit Judge George J. Quist ruled in favor of the airport, writing that the state’s claims are preempted by former federal requirements that commercial airports use a chemical based aqueous film-forming foam known as AFFF.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2023 by Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), sought damages and costs tied to the discovery of PFAS in residential drinking water near the airport in 2018 .

“This appears t

See Full Page