Novi Times

Oakland Co. mom's mold horror story inspires bills in state House, Congress....

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, said she was "blown away" by Crider's story, which she guessed was also likely the experience of other families in southeast Michigan, especially after a series of damaging, historic storms in recent years that flooded basements across the region."For any family that experiences this, it can feel very unjust," Stevens said. "And the Crider story being so unique that it happened three times, just put so much financial and health pressure on this family.

Stevens found a co-sponsor in Republican Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico, whose constituents have also grappled with the health effects of mold living along a coastline in a humid climate and enduring flood damage from hurricanes including Fiona in September and Maria in 2017.

Their bill, the Fix Moldy Housing Act, would instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to examine when indoor mold assessment and remediation are warranted and how best to do such remediation "properly and safely."

Stevens also wants the EPA to issue non-binding national standards to identify the levels at which mold should be assessed and remediated.

"It's like the wild west for homeowners, for families," she said. "I saw an opening to include the study element in this bill because there are not federally established health-based standards for acceptable levels of mold indoors, and we could use more research to support the creation of a standard."

Stevens' legislation would also create a $50 million a year grant program for state governments to help cover the costs of cleaning up mold in public buildings and homes, including the costs of temporary housing for up to six months for people who are "severely impacted" by mold in their homes.

A separate program would provide grants for states and tribal governments that set up a licensing program for businesses that assess and remediate mold. Stevens said only six states have a licensure program to qualify mold professionals, and Michigan is not among them.

"This is also an attempt to stop blight, to keep people in their homes and keep neighborhoods strong and safe and secure," Stevens said. "We don't have infinite land either, so we want every home to be the best home for anyone to live in."

Original source can be found here.