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EPA proposes first drinking water standards for PFAS

Mar 14, 2023, 13:35 PM by User Not Found

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on March 14 it is proposing the first-ever national drinking water standard for six PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the latest action under President Biden’s plan to combat PFAS pollution and EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap.

This proposal builds on other efforts to combat PFAS, including the EPA’s proposal to designate two PFAS as CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) hazardous substances; enhancing data on PFAS under the EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy and through nationwide sampling for 29 PFAS in public drinking water systems; using the EPA’s Clean Water Act permitting and regulatory programs to reduce PFAS pollution in the environment from industry; and initiating the distribution of $10 billion in funding to address emerging contaminants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“Over the last 10 years, NGWA has been one of the nation’s strongest advocates for a national standard on PFAS limits in drinking water. For too long, communities across the country struggled with patchwork regulations and limited guidance on how to safely manage these chemicals, which impact the drinking water of more than 200 million Americans,” said NGWA CEO Terry S. Morse, CAE, CIC.

“We applaud the EPA on this historic action and look forward to the hard work ahead of examining how this newly proposed standard can effectively provide clean and safe drinking water to all.”

The proposal, if finalized, would regulate PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) as individual contaminants, and will regulate four other PFAS — PFNA (perfluorononanoic acid), PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulfonate), PFBS (perfluorobutanesulfonic acid), and GenX chemicals — as a mixture.

  • PFOA and PFOS: The EPA is proposing to regulate PFOA and PFOS at a level they can be reliably measured at 4 parts per trillion.
  • PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX chemicals: The EPA is also proposing a regulation to limit any mixture containing one or more of PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and/or GenX chemicals. For these PFAS, water systems would use an established approach called a hazard index calculation, defined in the proposed rule, to determine if the combined levels of these PFAS pose a potential risk.

If finalized, the proposed regulation will require public water systems to monitor for these chemicals. It will also require systems to notify the public and reduce PFAS contamination if levels exceed the proposed regulatory standards.

Residential household water well systems are not affected by proposed water standards.

“While there are proven technologies that reduce PFAS in households, public water systems, and private water wells, additional financial and technical support will be required from the federal government to meet the standard they proposed today,” said NGWA Director of Science and Technology Bill Alley, Ph.D. “This will be especially crucial for providing testing and treatment for private water wells and financial resources to small, rural groundwater-based systems.”

Click here to read more.

NGWA has long been an industry leader in providing PFAS research, education, and resources to the public and scientific communities. Learn more by visiting NGWA.org/PFAS, which is a complete resource center about the groundwater contaminants featuring a recently updated top-10 facts sheet, a position paper, and more.

Also found there is Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which NGWA published in 2017 and is one of the first PFAS guidance documents to be released. The Association hosted its second conference last year in Westerville, Ohio, focused entirely on PFAS science and remediation.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is a category of human-made chemicals that have been widely used in a variety of products and industries, such as firefighting foams, protective coatings, and surfactant applications among many other uses and products. This website section provides information on PFAS particularly oriented toward private wells and the water well industry to help you understand the sources and occurrence of PFAS in groundwater. If you are concerned about the possibility of PFAS in your drinking water and are served by a private well, both NGWA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommend testing your drinking water as well as reaching out to your local health department for information.

As an authority on groundwater in the United States, NGWA is a leader in the science of PFAS affecting this important natural resource. Directed by a standing task group dedicated to advancing the knowledge of this emerging topic, NGWA’s PFAS initiatives include hosting PFAS conferences focused on groundwater and publishing multiple products (technical guidance documents, white papers, fact sheets, position papers) related to PFAS, groundwater, and the water well industry.

The last several years have seen a flurry of wide-ranging legislation concerning PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from Capitol Hill and state legislatures. NGWA has been a key resource on not only providing the sound science to inform policymakers about these “forever chemicals,” but also providing solutions that our members’ expertise can provide to ensure our groundwater resources are safe and reliable. While we agree states have a right to manage and regulate PFAS based on their unique circumstances, we also feel the federal government must provide clearer and scientifically researched guidance on PFAS treatment and disposal. 

NGWA continues to advocate for:

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  • Supporting a bipartisan solution that creates a maximum contaminant level — or MCL — for PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) based on the best available science
  • Dedicating financial and technical resources to private well owners for testing and remediating PFAS
  • Properly funding PFAS programs and solutions to ensure our groundwater is safe and reliable
  • Advanced guidance from the EPA on the treatment and disposal of PFAS.

PFAS: Top 10 Facts

Download PFAS: Top 10 Facts. 

PFAS: The Truth About Water Wells position paper

NGWA published this position paper in 2022 that provides facts about PFAS and how water wells can still provide safe water because effective residential-scale PFAS treatment technologies are commercially available. It is ideal for sharing with local, state, and federal officials. Download the position paper.

Practical Guide for PFAS Sampling white paper

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The NGWA white paper, Practical Guide for PFAS Sampling, provides a practical guide to PFAS sample collection for those familiar with industry-standard environmental field sampling practices.

Groundwater professionals may be called on to sample for PFAS analysis and to interpret PFAS laboratory data. The presence of PFAS in many products, potentially including products commonly used in environmental field sampling efforts, should be considered when planning a PFAS sampling program, and this document provides a guide for such programs.

PFAS Fate and Transport 2021 white paper

NGWA’s white paper, PFAS Fate and Transport 2021, updates section four of the NGWA guidance document, Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which was published in 2017.

Since the release of that guidance document, many studies have investigated PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) transformation, partitioning, and transport; for example, the influence of PFAS accumulation at media interfaces, such as the air-water-solid interfaces in the vadose zone.

This white paper picks up where that section of the guidance document left off by providing important updates.

PFAS risk communication

In 2017, NGWA published Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice. Created by 36 NGWA volunteers, it was a comprehensive document that summarized current knowledge and science at the time about the fate, transport, remediation, and treatment of PFAS, as well as current technologies, methods, and field procedures.

As a groundwater professional, you may need to inform a customer of the potential for PFAS contamination in their well water and subsequent actions to mitigate exposure. NGWA recently published “PFAS Risk Communication for Contractors,” a two-page fact sheet to aid groundwater professionals in such communications. The document features common questions that may be asked and talking points that may be of assistance.

PFAS and private wells

NGWA recently published “PFAS and Private Well Owners: What You Need to Know,” a two-page fact sheet that groundwater professionals can distribute to customers and others in their community concerned about PFAS. Written in easy-to-understand language by groundwater professionals, it explains what PFAS are, how to test wells for PFAS, treatment options, and more.

NGWA guidance document

NGWA published Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, a guidance document on PFAS in 2017. Created by 36 NGWA volunteers who spent 1100 hours on it over the course of 12 months, it is a comprehensive eight-part piece exploring the potentially hazardous, and widely discussed, compounds in groundwater and soil. NGWA published the document to identify the known science and knowledge related to PFAS; it summarizes the fate, transport, remediation, and treatment of PFAS, as well as current technologies, methods, and field procedures.

Water and soil guidelines and regulations

Click here to be redirected to a website where the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) maintains fact sheets on PFAS along with Excel® spreadsheets that contain PFAS water and soil regulatory and guidance values by state and federal agencies.

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