Airport Workgroup

About the workgroup

The Airport Workgroup is led by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and includes staff from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and Michigan Department of Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

Mission

To identify impacted airports throughout the state; coordinate with appropriate federal, state, and local agencies; and support community engagement activities as requested.

Recent accomplishments

In January 2026, EGLE awarded grants to 19 airports totaling over $9M to address PFAS. Grants were awarded for one or more of the following activities: testing and monitoring to delineate groundwater plumes or address storm water; developing feasibility studies; implementing remediation measures; cleaning out fire trucks; purchasing PFAS-free firefighter turn-out gear. Below is a table showing all the grants awarded since 2020 to address PFAS at airports in Michigan.

Airport reward amounts

Airport	2020-2021 Amount Awarded	2022 Amount Awarded	2026 Amount Awarded	Total Amount Awarded Between 2020 and 2026
Battle Creek Executive Airport	$201,809	$350,000	$300,000	$851,809
Bishop International Airport Authority	$250,000	$350,000	$300,000	$900,000
Capital Region International Airport	$201,966	$140,650	$300,000	$642,616
Cherry Capital Airport	$249,981	$350,000	$1,000,000	$1,599,981
Chippewa County International Airport (Former Kincheloe Air Force Base)	$123,466	$350,000	$475,000	$948,466
Delta County Airport	$235,200	$226,000	$476,697	$937,897
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport	$250,000	$350,000	$370,000	$970,000
Ford Dickinson County Airport	$250,000	$350,000	$462,600	$1,062,600
Former Marquette County Airport	$166,641	$350,000	$1,000,000	$1,516,641
Gerald R. Ford International Airport	$249,904	$350,000	$150,000	$749,904
Gogebic-Iron County Airport	$201,937	$285,186	$361,400	$848,523
Houghton County Memorial Airport	$201,827	$350,000	$1,000,000	$1,551,827
Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport	$201,966	$350,000	$710,681	$1,262,647
Livingston County Airport	N/A	$58,750	N/A	$58,750
Manistee Blacker Airport	$237,300	$208,984	$150,000	$596,284
Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport	$224,000	N/A	$150,000	$374,000
MBS International Airport	$154,000	$350,000	$340,202	$844,202
Oakland County International Airport	$100,000	$121,500	$264,479	$485,979
Pellston Regional Airport	$250,000	$348,498	$1,000,000	$1,598,498
Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti	$250,000	$350,000	$250,000	$850,000

Reports

N/A

Research and studies

N/A

Timeline of accomplishments

2018
In 2018, this workgroup engaged federal partners to explore the feasibility of adjusting existing federal rules requiring commercial service airports to dispense foam as part of their federal airport firefighting certification. Through outreach to the United States Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration, regulatory relief from the traditional foam testing requirement was achieved through the Airport Workgroup. This relief came in the form of new guidance that permits new foam testing equipment to be employed in place of more traditional methods of dispensing foam onto the ground.

October 10, 2018: MDOT sent a letter to the U.S Department of Transportation and National Association of State Aviation Officials seeking support to urge the Federal Aviation Administration to provide an alternate method of complying with foam testing requirements

October 10, 2028 letter from MDOT to USDOT

December 18, 2018: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded to MDOT’s request, which later results in approval of testing foam dispensing equipment without releasing foam.

December 18, 2018 letter from FAA to MDOT

Upon notification by our federal partners that new testing methods could be employed at the state’s commercial service airports, the Airport Subgroup collaborated with its partners to explore options for bringing this new testing equipment to the state as quickly as possible. These discussions, in conjunction with supplemental legislative appropriations for PFAS response, led to the Airport Foam Testing Equipment Grant Program. This program allocated nearly $25,000 for each of 19 commercial service airports in the state to acquire these more environmentally friendly foam testing systems. By the end of the fiscal year, 17 airports had purchased their testing systems through this grant program, and the remaining 2 were poised to purchase equipment in early 2020. As of early 2020, all commercial service airports had received and have employed their new testing equipment. The Airport Workgroup believes that the grant program illustrates the effectiveness of the MPART topical workgroup arrangement.
2019
2019: MDOT Aeronautics staff collected information on current inventories and past areas of AFFF utilization.
2020 - 2025
On April 27, 2020, MDOT and EGLE issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for $4M in grant funding for PFAS testing at commercial services airports. Funding is from the Michigan State Legislature under Section 401(1) and (2) of EGLE’s fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget. A webinar was held on April 28, 2020, to walk applicants through the RFP.

By August 2020, 19 airports had been awarded grants totaling $4M. These grants were administered by MDOT and ranged from $100,000 to the maximum of $250,000. Grants ran 18-24 months.

In April of 2022, a request for proposals was issued for additional testing and monitoring at airports. As of November 2023, 18 grants had been awarded totaling $5.5M, and a 19th grant was undergoing a bid process. These grants range from $100,000 to $250,000 and are being administered by EGLE. These grants were intended to run no more than 24 months.

In June 2025, a request for proposals (RFP) was issued for testing, monitoring, implementing remediation practices, conducting feasibility studies and for purchasing PFAS-free equipment at airports. Completed applications were due July 30, 2025. EGLE received over $14M in requests.