EPA hosted a meeting Oct. 19 with NACWA and other associations to discuss an upcoming Agency memo on addressing PFAS in pretreatment and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.  The Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA), and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) also participated in the meeting.

The upcoming memo will closely follow an April 28, 2022 memo, “Addressing PFAS Discharges in EPA-Issued NPDES Permits and Expectations Where EPA is the Pretreatment Control Authority.” This memo includes recommendations for publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to identify all industrial users that may discharge PFAS, require best management practices and pollution prevention to address these PFAS discharges, and develop local limits for PFAS.  It also recommends monitoring of influent, effluent, and biosolids at POTWs, with monitoring done at least quarterly. 

NACWA and the other associations discussed the practical difficulties and extra costs associated with additional PFAS monitoring, and requested that EPA continue its consideration of how existing infrastructure funding programs, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding for emerging contaminants, may be used to assist POTWs with these costs. 

NACWA will notify members when the new memo is released.  Please contact Cynthia Finley, NACWA’s Director, Regulatory Affairs, with any questions.