Adding PFAS Class To Contaminant List, U.S. EPA Sets Stage For Stricter Regulation
The U.S. EPA has signaled that its cornerstone drinking water regulation could soon expand to better protect against one of the country’s most notorious contaminants.
“The U.S. EPA published a new list of chemicals … that could be subject to Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulations in the next five years, including a ‘substantial expansion’ to cover numerous PFAS chemicals,” Waste Dive reported. “The list … lists per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as a group rather than individually. Previously, the agency only listed individual PFAS for certain regulations.”
The updated list, known as the “Final Fifth Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List” (CCL 5), does not ensure that PFAS as a group will be regulated under the SDWA, but it does suggest that the EPA will be approaching new regulation around these contaminants as a class, rather than individually.
“This means commercial PFAS, their byproducts, and their environmental transformation products will come under EPA scrutiny if they are detected in drinking water and meet the new definition,” per Chemical & Engineering News. “The agency previously listed only individual PFAS as candidates for such regulation.”
The update has put industrial operations on alert.
“Waste companies are closely watching to see how these decisions might affect daily facility operations,” according to Waste Dive. “Both the National Waste & Recycling Association and the Solid Waste Association of North America said future PFAS regulations, particularly the hazardous substance regulation, could be costly and ramp up liability concerns.”
While the move is a significant one for the likely future of PFAS regulation, it may be some time before the full impacts are felt by industrial wastewater or municipal drinking water treatment operations.
“After listing, the agency requires large public drinking-water utilities to monitor for the contaminants and conducts or funds similar monitoring at some smaller water systems,” Chemical & Engineering News reported. “After analyzing the resulting monitoring data, the agency must study at least five contaminants on the list and decide whether to regulate any of them. This process generally takes years.”
To read more about the federal rules that govern wastewater treatment visit Water Online’s PFAS Solutions Center.