Alongside USEPA’s recent issuance of new Health Advisory Levels, or HALs, for certain PFAS chemicals (namely, PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, and GenX), the Agency also announced that, as part of the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government effort to address PFAS, USEPA is making available $1 billion in grant funding in Fiscal Year 2022 (and a total of $5 billion for FY 2022-2026) through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law “to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination” to reduce PFAS in drinking water “in communities facing disproportionate impacts.” (We previously wrote about PFAS-related funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law here.)
According to USEPA, the new funding will be distributed to states and territories and “can be used in small or disadvantaged communities to address emerging contaminants like PFAS in drinking water through actions such as technical assistance, water quality testing, contractor training, and installation of centralized treatment technologies and systems.”
This effort combines two policy focuses of the Biden Administration: PFAS and Environmental Justice. To learn more about Environmental Justice, particularly in the context of ESG principles, check out this recent podcast from Fox Rothschild’s ESG Practice Group.