NGWA submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on September 7 in support of the inclusion of 16 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to its draft Contaminant Candidate List (CCL).
The CCL is a list of drinking water contaminants that are known, or anticipated, to occur in public water systems and are not currently subject to EPA drinking water regulations.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires the EPA to publish a CCL every five years as the chemicals outlined in the list may require future regulations under the SDWA. This current draft is the fifth CCL produced by the EPA since the SDWA amendments of 1996.
NGWA’s comments in support of the inclusion of PFAS to the CCL is the most recent action in its longtime advocacy for increased regulations of PFAS in drinking water. The Association noted the following in its submitted comments:
“NGWA appreciates EPA moving forward on regulating PFAS in drinking water with this action regarding CCL 5. The EPA PFAS program should be a comprehensive approach to protecting our nation’s population from these chemicals in the future.”
Last year, NGWA was joined by eight prominent water associations in a letter urging the EPA to increase PFAS regulations and accelerate research and water treatment methods of PFAS in drinking water.
The EPA’s current draft CCL includes cyanotoxins, disinfection byproducts, and 12 microbial contaminants.
Click here to read NGWA’s comments.
NGWA has long been an industry leader in providing PFAS research, education, and resources to the public and scientific communities. In 2017, NGWA published Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which was one of the first PFAS guidance documents to be released. It can be found at NGWA.org/PFAS, which is a complete resource center about the groundwater contaminants featuring a FAQs document, a top-10 facts sheet, a homeowner checklist, and more.