NJDEP Approves Much Stronger PFAS Limits Than EPA
In a move that may set new precedent for water treatment operations around the country, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has pushed to step up regulation around one of the country’s most insidious contaminants.
“The state Department of Environmental Protection confirmed … that a proposed rule setting maximum contaminant limits on PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid), two of the most prevalent and widely studied of the PFAS family of chemicals, had been sent to the Office of Administrative Law,” NJ Spotlight reported. “After the rule is finalized by publication in the New Jersey Register, it will require public utilities and owners of private water wells to ensure that drinking water contains no more than 14 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 13 ppt for PFOS.”
PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” because they bioaccumulate in humans and do not break down naturally in the environment, have found their way into source water and eventually drinking water throughout the country. They have been used in industrial operations and as an element of firefighting foam at military bases.
Though the U.S. EPA has set non-regulatory, non-enforceable health advisory levels of 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA, many local regulators feel these standards do not go far enough. Now, New Jersey’s environmental gatekeeper has taken matters into its own hands.
“Studies estimate about 98% of Americans have some level of PFAS in their blood, but New Jerseyans are believed to be particularly at risk due to the state’s density and industrial legacy,” according to USA Today. “A survey of several dozen drinking water systems conducted by the NJDEP in 2010 found that 70% contained some amount of PFAS.”
The NJDEP’s Drinking Water Quality Institute drafted the stricter limit in 2016 and 2017. The NJDEP then proposed implementing the new limits in April 2019, beginning a one-year period of public comment. Even with that period now closed and the limits moved forward, there is no apparent timeline for them to be finalized and added to the state register. But if and when they do, local utilities may have difficulty adjusting.
“Water utilities would now be responsible for paying to filter or replace water sources containing PFOS and PFOA above the state limits,” per USA Today. “Some, such as the Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority, previously expressed concern that they’ll be unable to compel polluters to pay for filtration.”
While the onus for complying with the regulations will, as always, fall on treatment operations, New Jersey may be just an early leader among many who will soon institute stricter PFAS limits.
To read more about how drinking water utilities treat for PFAS, visit Water Online’s Contaminant Removal Solutions Center.