The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “permanent chemicals” in drinking water, which will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level where they can be measured reliably.
Officials say it will reduce the exposure of 100 million people and help prevent thousands of diseases, including cancers.
The rule is the first national limit in drinking water for toxic PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are widespread and long-lasting in the environment.
Health advocates praised the Environmental Protection Agency for not backing away from strict limits the agency proposed last year.
But water utilities have challenged that rule, saying the treatment systems are expensive to install and customers will end up paying more for water.
Water providers are entering a new era with important additional health standards that the EPA says will make tap water safer for millions of consumers — a priority of the Biden administration.
The agency also proposed requiring utilities to remove dangerous lead pipes.
Utility groups warn that the rules will cost tens of billions of dollars each and fall hardest on smaller communities with fewer resources.
Legal challenges will certainly follow.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan says this rule is the most significant action the EPA has ever taken regarding PFAS.
“The result is a life-changing, comprehensive rule that will improve the health and vitality of many communities across our country,” Regan said.
PFAS chemicals are dangerous because they do not break down in the environment and are linked to health problems such as low birth weight and kidney cancer.
They have been used in everyday products including non-stick pans, firefighting foam and waterproof clothing.
Although some of the most common types are being phased out in the United States, others remain. Water suppliers will now be required to remove contamination brought into the environment by other industries.
“It’s this buildup that’s the problem,” said Scott Belcher, a professor at North Carolina State University who studies PFAS toxicity. “Even very small amounts, every time you drink water over the course of your life, will continue to accumulate, leading to health effects.”
PFAS are a large family of chemicals, and the new rule sets strict limits for two common types — called PFOA and PFOS — at 4 parts per trillion. Three other types including GenEx chemicals that are a major problem in North Carolina are limited to 10 parts per trillion.
Water providers will need to test for these PFAS chemicals and notify the public when levels are too high. Combinations of certain types of PFAS will also be limited.
Regan will announce the rule Wednesday in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Environmental and health advocates welcomed the rule but said PFAS manufacturers knew decades ago that the substances were dangerous but hid or downplayed the evidence. The limits should have come sooner, they say.
“Reducing PFAS in our drinking water is the most cost-effective way to reduce our exposure,” said Scott Faber, food and water expert at Environmental Working Group. “It is much more difficult to reduce other exposures such as PFAS found in food, clothing or carpets.”
Over the past year, the EPA has periodically released batches of utility test results for PFAS in drinking water. About 16% of utilities found at least one of the two strictly limited PFAS chemicals to be at or above the new limits.
These public services serve tens of millions of people.
The Biden administration, however, expects about 6% to 10% of water systems to exceed the new limits.
Water suppliers will generally have three years to conduct testing. If those tests exceed the limits, they will have two more years to install treatment systems, according to EPA officials.
Some funds are available to help public services. Manufacturer 3M recently agreed to pay drinking water suppliers more than $10 billion to settle a PFAS dispute. And the bipartisan infrastructure bill provides billions to fight the substance.
But utilities say more will be needed.
For some communities, the test results came as a surprise.
Last June, a utility outside Philadelphia that serves nearly 9,000 people learned that one of its wells had a PFOA level of 235 parts per trillion, one of the highest results of the country at the time.
“I mean, obviously, it was a shock,” said Joseph Hastings, director of the Joint Department of Public Works for the Collegeville and Trappe boroughs, whose job includes solving problems posed by the new regulations.
The well was quickly decommissioned, but Hastings still doesn’t know the source of the contamination. Several other wells exceeded the new limits set by the EPA, but were lower than those previously set by the state of Pennsylvania. Today, Hastings says installing treatment systems could be a multimillion-dollar project, a significant expense for a small customer base.
The new regulations “will throw the public’s trust in drinking water into chaos,” said Mike McGill, president of WaterPIO, a water industry communications firm.
The American Water Works Association, an industry group, says it supports setting limits for PFAS in drinking water, but says the EPA rule poses big problems.
The agency underestimated its high cost, which cannot be justified for communities with low levels of PFAS, and it will increase customers’ water bills, the association said. Additionally, there are not enough experts and workers – and supplies of filtration equipment are limited.
Work has started in some places.
The Veolia company operates utilities serving about 2.3 million people in six Eastern states and manages the water systems of millions more. Veolia has built PFAS treatment for small water systems that serve about 150,000 people.
The company, however, expects about 50 additional sites to need treatment – and it is working to scale up its efforts to reduce PFAS in the large communities it serves.
Such efforts follow dramatic changes in EPA health guidance regarding PFAS in recent years, as more research on its health harms has emerged.
Less than a decade ago, the EPA issued a health advisory that said combined levels of PFOA and PFOS should not exceed 70 parts per trillion. Now, the agency says no amount is certain.
Public concern has also increased. In Minnesota, for example, the Amara Act aims to end the avoidable use of PFAS.
It’s been nearly a year since the law’s namesake, Amara Strande, died of a rare cancer that her family attributes to PFAS contamination by 3M near her high school in Oakdale, although a link between the PFAS and its cancer cannot be proven.
Biden administration officials say communities shouldn’t suffer like Oakdale. 3M extends its deepest condolences to Amara’s friends and family.
Losing Amara pushed the family toward activism. They have repeatedly testified in favor of restrictions on PFAS.
“Four parts per trillion, we couldn’t ask for a better standard,” said Amara’s sister Nora. “This is a very ambitious target, but anything higher than that puts lives at risk.”
New York Post
