PROPOSED MCL DRINKING WATER

EPA is proposing a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) to establish legally enforceable levels, called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for six PFAS in drinking water. PFOA and PFOS as individual contaminants, and PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS, and HFPO-DA (commonly referred to as GenX Chemicals) as a PFAS mixture. EPA is also proposing health-based, non-enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) for these six PFAS. 

The proposed rule would also require public water systems to:

  • Monitor for these PFAS

  • Notify the public of the levels of these PFAS

  • Reduce the levels of these PFAS in drinking water if they exceed the proposed standards.

COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND LIABILITY ACT (CERCLA)

CERCLA, also known as Superfund, gives the U.S. EPA broad authority to respond directly to actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances. The EPA has announced its intention to classify PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA. Once this happens, the EPA will have the authority to respond directly, e.g., issue cleanup orders, in the event of a release. CERCLA also grants the EPA the power to address existing contamination.

CLEAN WATER ACT (CWA)

The CWA gives the U.S. EPA the authority to regulate non-potable water. Currently, the EPA is working with the Department of Defense to develop a new method (Draft Method 1633) for analyzing up to 40 specific compounds in non-potable waters, such as wastewater, groundwater, and surface waters. Once validated, the CWA grants the EPA the authority to promulgate this method and paves the way for more stringent sampling and testing requirements in other EPA programs.

EFFLUENT GUIDELINES PROGRAM

Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) establish national technology-based regulatory limits for specified pollutants in wastewater discharge. The U.S. EPA updates its Effluent Guidelines Program Plan every two years, and Plan 15 was just released in January of 2023. It’s important to note that the Effluent Guidelines Program Plan does not set ELGs. It identifies the industries for which ELGs will be set. Plan 15 calls for ELGs to be set for discharge from landfills. Once defined, these ELGs will be the first PFAS-related ELGs for wastewater discharge. Plan 15 also calls for more research on PFAS in wastewater discharge from textile mills as well as wastewater discharge from industry sent to publicly owned treatment works (POTW).

FIFTH UNREGULATED CONTAMINANT MONITORING RULE (UCMR 5)

UCMR 5 is designed to collect data on contaminants suspected to be present in the nation’s public water systems but that do not yet have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The EPA is authorized to issue a new list of 30 contaminants every five years. Of the 30 contaminants in UCMR 5, PFAS account for 29. (The 30th is the metal lithium) Under UCMR 5, all public water systems (PWS) serving more than 3300 people plus a randomly selected set of 800 smaller systems will be required to test for these compounds at entry points to their drinking water distribution systems in 2023.