2020 promises to be a busy year for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and its goal to regulate and address PFOA and PFOS contamination.
Pennsylvania first became aware of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as an emerging contaminant in 2013, after the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in its Third … Continue Reading
Regulatory attention is focused on the presence of certain man-made substances in the environment at trace levels (parts per trillion or ppt). The science regarding whether these trace levels cause harm is not well developed. However, there is growing awareness that some of these substances are detectable in nearly all U.S. blood samples, and they are commonly present in drinking … Continue Reading
PFAS State Survey: Standards and Guidance Values for PFAS in Groundwater, Drinking Water and Surface Water
Source: Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (“ITRC”) PFAS Fact Sheets updated as of January 2020.
To see the specific state standards or guidance for groundwater, drinking water and surface water refer to Table 4-1 on the ITRC website: https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/fact-sheets/
As of February 2020, … Continue Reading
New Jersey is in the forefront in regulating PFAS substances. In 2007, New Jersey developed non-binding preliminary health-based guidance for drinking water of 40 ppt PFOA and 20 ppt for PFOS. NJDEP conducted a limited state-wide study of PFOA and PFOS in 30 drinking water intakes between 2009 and 2010. Additional drinking water data was gathered under USEPA’s … Continue Reading
PFAS in Delaware are regulated under the Delaware Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act, 7 Del. C. Chapter 91 (“HSCA”).
On July 2, 2018, following discovery of detections at Dover Air Force Base, New Castle County Airport and other locations, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (“DNREC”) issued its Policy for Sampling and Evaluation of Per- and Poly- … Continue Reading
EPA is working on a number of initiatives to regulate PFAS pursuant to the EPA PFAS Action Plan, and a number of timelines have been put in place as a result of the late 2019 enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (“NDAA”), see generally Sections 7301-7362. However, as of February 2020, PFAS are largely not … Continue Reading
On January 22, 2020, the Environmental Working Group, “EWG”, a U.S. activist organization, released a report contending that PFAS contamination of tap water is far more prevalent than previously reported. The EWG report was picked up by the national press and widely reported with headlines raising the alarm regarding the levels of PFAS in drinking water supplies in major U.S. … Continue Reading
On February 10, 2020, the Trump administration announced its proposed U.S. EPA budget for fiscal year 2021 of $6.7 billion down from $9.1 billion for fiscal year 2020, representing a 26% cut. While it is unlikely that the proposed budget cuts will be approved by Congress, it is notable that the proposed EPA budget included an additional $6 million to … Continue Reading
…