EPA Announces Comprehensive National Strategy On PFAS Pollution

On October 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a national Strategic Roadmap to protect public health and the environment from PFAS pollution.

The Roadmap lays out:

-- Aggressive timelines to set enforceable drinking water limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure water is safe to drink in every community.

-- A hazardous substance designation under CERCLA, to strengthen the ability to hold polluters financially accountable.

-- Timelines for action—whether it is data collection or rulemaking—on Effluent Guideline Limitations under the Clean Water Act for nine industrial categories.

-- A review of past actions on PFAS taken under the Toxic Substances Control Act to address those that are insufficiently protective.

-- Increased monitoring, data collection and research so that the agency can identify what actions are needed and when to take them.

-- A final toxicity assessment for GenX, which can be used to develop health advisories that will help communities make informed decisions to better protect human health and ecological wellness.

-- Continued efforts to build the technical foundation needed on PFAS air emissions to inform future actions under the Clean Air Act.   

EPA’s Strategic Roadmap is a critical step forward in addressing PFAS pollution. Every level of government – from local, to state, to Tribal, to federal will need to exercise increased and sustained leadership to continue the momentum and make progress on PFAS. 

President Biden has called for more than $10 billion in funding to address PFAS contamination through his Build Back Better agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. 

These critical resources will enable EPA and other federal agencies to scale up the research and work, so that they meet the scale of the PFAS challenge.

Stakeholder Webinars

Over the coming weeks, EPA will be working to partner for progress on PFAS. The agency will be engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to continue to identify collaborative solutions to the PFAS challenge, including two national webinars that will be held on October 26 and November 2.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

Visit DEP’s PFAS In Pennsylvania webpage for background on related actions in Pennsylvania.

NewsClip:

-- AP: EPA Unveils Strategy To Regulate Toxic PFAS ‘Forever’ Chemicals

Related Article:

-- WARNING Issued: Do Not Eat Fish From Neshaminy Creek Watershed In Bucks, Montgomery Counties Due To High Levels Of PFOS Contamination

[Posted: October 18, 2021] PA Environment Digest