Last week, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Resources Control Board made two major announcements regarding PFAS:
- California will not yet initiate steps to promulgate Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS in the state’s drinking water. While many states are establishing MCLs, California notes it wants to wait a bit and look beyond the scope of PFOA and PFOS. California has adopted drinking water notification levels of 14 ppt for PFOA and 13 ppt for PFOS, but those levels are advisory recommendations to public water systems and are not enforceable drinking water or hazardous cleanup standards. The state believes waiting to establish MCLs will allow for more robust toxicity data to support such enforcement levels.
- The Water Board will immediately roll out a “PFAS Phased Investigation Plan” to systematically obtain PFAS effluent and drinking water data from more than 1,500 airports, landfills, and drinking water wells across the state. The Board intends to eventually extend the investigation to refineries, non-airport and urban fire training areas, secondary manufacturers, and wastewater treatment plants. This first-of-its-kind effort will have a large impact on the state, increasing testing and holding manufacturers and users accountable.
To learn more about California’s PFAS efforts, see here.
