NACWA hosted a webinar Nov. 9 for public clean water utility executives on the growing challenges presented by PFAS chemicals.  

The webinar featured a presentation from NACWA staff on the current regulatory, legislative and legal issues surrounding PFAS and what considerations public clean water utilities should be thinking about.  There was a summary of EPA’s recent PFAS Road Map, including key dates by which the Agency anticipates completing actions such as a risk assessment for biosolids.  There was also discussion of efforts in Congress to potentially push EPA to regulate PFAS more quickly.

A number of issues were discussed by utility leaders on the call, including the need to push Congress for a statutory PFAS exemption for clean water utilities under federal law given that these facilities are merely passive receivers of the chemicals.  There was also concern that states may move more aggressively on PFAS regulations than the federal government, leading to a patchwork of regulation around the country that would be unsustainable.  There was strong agreement that any regulation at the state or federal level must use a “polluter pays” approach that does not place the financial burden on local utilities and their ratepayers.   

Slides from the presentation are available here, and members interested in a recording of the webinar can contact Emily Remmel, NACWA’s Director of Regulator Affairs.