U.S. EPA Proposes PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation  

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation to protect public health from PFAS pollution. Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals that do not occur naturally in the environment and can cause adverse developmental and immune system effects.  

The proposed EPA regulation would establish legally enforceable levels, called maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), along with health-based, non-enforceable maximum contaminant-level goals (MCLGs) for six PFAS in drinking water:

The proposed rule notably establishes limits for more compounds and has more stringent levels than those adopted by the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board earlier this year. The commonwealth set MCLGs for PFOA at 8 ng/L and PFOS at 14 ng/L and MCLs for PFOA at 14 ng/L and PFOS at 18 ng/L. These levels were adopted to protect the health of commonwealth residents while the U.S. EPA continues to address rulemaking.  

This proposed EPA rule would require public water systems to monitor for these PFAS, notify the public of PFAS levels, and reduce the levels of these chemicals in drinking water if they exceed the proposed standards. EPA anticipates finalizing the regulation by the end of 2023. PSATS will be reviewing the regulation to determine the impact on townships. For more information on the proposed regulation, please visit EPA’s website.