After prolonged and detailed review, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published legally enforceable drinking water standards for per-and-polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) compounds colloquially referred to as “forever chemicals”. It is estimated that between 6 and 10 percent of 65,000 public drinking water systems will be required to reduce levels of contamination that exceed the published standards.
The EPA designated six PFAS compounds as “genX chemicals” with maximum contaminant levels established for individual compounds and their combinations.
Water supply systems will have three years to complete initial monitoring and will then be required to disclose levels of PFAS compounds to consumers. Removal of compounds will be mandated over a five-year period. Current technology capable of removing PFAS compounds from drinking water include filtration through granular activated carbon, reverse osmosis and ion exchange.
In addition to providing technical assistance to water supply systems, $1 billion will be made available to implement testing and treatment with funding derived from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.