Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1495364
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARCH 22 - 28, 2023 UCW 9 NEWS EPA announces national standards for PFAS levels a Carolina Journal STAFF REPORT EPA Administrator Michael Regan was in North Carolina last week to announce a regulation requiring public utilities to constantly monitor for PFAS.(Photo courtesy Carolina Journal) EPA Administrator Michael Re- gan announced a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation at a press conference in Wilmington on March 14. e regulation applies to six PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) also known as "forever chemicals" that can be found in drinking water. Regan told a crowd at UNC Wilm- ington, "EPA is proposing the first ever national standard to protect communities from PFAS in drinking water." e proposed plan, which won't be completed until later this year, will have the largest impact on public wa- ter utilities. Utilities will be required to constantly monitor for the six PFAS which include PFOA and PFOS as individual contaminants, and PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS, and GenX as a mixture. Notifications to the public of PFAS levels and a reduction of contamina- tion if levels exceed the standards are also required. NCDEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser who also spoke at the announcement noted that the North Carolina DEQ Action Strategy for PFAS which was released in June of last year has the department already working on PFAS contamination with water utilities and municipalities. "e state is taking a whole depart- ment approach for PFAS. Under our Action Strategy, our approach is to research, regulate, or remediate," Biser said. "We focus on protecting communities through research and identifying where PFAS contamina- tion exists." North Carolina was at the center of national attention in 2017 when the Wilmington Star-News ran a story about GenX in the Lower Cape Fear River Basin. GenX is a chemical used to make Teflon, firefighting foam, solar panels, and other products according to a report from the John Locke Foundation. e chemical made its way into the Cape Fear River in Bladen County at the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant. EPA Compound Chat "Dr. Knappe, an engineering pro- fessor at North Carolina State, and his students were conducting water sampling in the Cape Fear River when they discovered the presence of a toxic chemical compound known as GenX," EPA Administrator Regan con- tinued. "Chemours, a chemical manu- facturing company in Fayetteville, had been deliberately polluting the air and water with these chemicals for decades." Unlike prior advisories from EPA about PFAS and drinking water, the new proposed regulations come with enforceable metrics. "EPA is proposing to establish legally enforceable levels for six PFAS known to occur in drinking water," Regan said. Currently, each state is left to han- dle its own regulations and enforce- ment. In North Carolina, DEQ has a consent order with Chemours and Cape Fear River Watch which requires the chemical maker to reduce their PFAS emission by 99.9%. "Long-term exposure to certain types of PFAS have been linked to se- rious illnesses, including cancer, liver damage, and high cholesterol," Regan said. However, the health effects of PFAS are still largely unknown. "We anticipate that when fully implemented, this rule will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS related illnesses.," Regan said. A public hearing on the proposed rule is set for May 4. e public com- ment period will open following the proposed rule publishing in the Fed- eral Register. Public comments can be provided at that time at www.regula- tions.gov under Docket ID: EPA-HQ- OW-2022-0114.