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PADUCAH U.S. Rep. James Comer touched on the issues surrounding understaffed law enforcement at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area while in Paducah on Thursday. The congressman spoke during the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce's Power in Partnership breakfast.

As we reported Tuesday, the issue was discussed earlier this week by the Lyon County sheriff and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul while Paul was visiting Eddyville.

The sheriff told Local 6 that LBL can hold more people than some of the biggest cities in Lyon County, and when the national recreation area's limited law enforcement staff is overwhelmed, his deputies are often the first to be called. The sheriff said that pulls deputies away from parts of Lyon County they're supposed to be protecting.

Thursday, Comer said he and his office have been in contact with federal agencies to make sure LBL is adequately funded for both programs and law enforcement. He said it's an ongoing conversation.

"There were a lot of commitments made to the families and to the communities when the forestry service took over Land Between the Lakes, and unfortunately a lot of those commitments aren't being met now," Comer said. "So, my office is doing everything it can to work with the forestry service to see that the services they're budgeted to provide, and the services that they're legislated to provide, are actually being provided."

Comer also provided his response to the Biden administration's efforts to ban PFAS. He says banning the use of those chemicals could affect chemical plants in the Calvert City area.

"We're against it, and we're speaking out and doing everything in our ability to stop some of these bad, burdensome regulations," the Republican congressman said.

Comer said banning those chemicals could negatively impact the livelihoods of local families.

"There are 5,000 chemicals that would fall into this classification. And the Calvert City Industrial Plant has several manufacturers there that use some of these chemicals to manufacture things. These provide good paying jobs and provide Americans with goods made in the United States," Comer said. "The Biden regulation would ban some of these chemicals that would shut some of these factories down because they wouldn't be able to produce Freon for air conditioners and refrigerators and that would shift the manufacturing to China."

He said he is actively working on messaging and legislation to fight the effort to ban PFAS.

PFAS short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances refers to a group of man-made chemicals, sometimes referred to as "forever chemicals" that don't break down in the environment and the human body. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, those chemicals can accumulate overtime, and there is evidence that exposure to them can have adverse health effects.

According to the EPA:

"Studies indicate that PFOA and PFOS [the most extensively produced and studied PFAS] can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals. Both chemicals have caused tumors in animal studies. The most consistent findings from human epidemiology studies are increased cholesterol levels among exposed populations, with more limited findings related to: infant birth weights, effects on the immune system, cancer (for PFOA), and thyroid hormone disruption (for PFOS).

"Oral exposure studies of PFBS in animals have shown effects on thyroid hormone disruption, reproductive organs and tissues, developing fetus, and kidney. Based on dose-response information across different sexes, lifestages, and durations of exposure, the thyroid appears to be particularly sensitive to oral PFBS exposure. The data are inadequate to evaluate cancer effects associated with PFBS exposure."

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U.S. Rep. Comer says he's working to make sure LBL is adequately funded; vows to fight Biden administration on regulation of 'forever chemicals' -...