Water News

EPA LCR Roundtables

On March 31, 2021, EPA announced that it will hold “listening sessions” and “roundtables” to “obtain further input on EPA’s revision to the Lead and Copper Rule…particularly from individuals and communities that are most at-risk of exposure to lead in drinking water.”  EPA held two “listening” sessions, one on April 28, 2021 and one on May 5, 2021.

In May 2021 EPA announced the location of the ten communities that have been selected to host LCR “roundtable” discussions.  The location and date for the first “roundtable” will be June 3, 2021 in Pittsburgh (start time for the roundtable is not available).  The additional nine locations are as follows (no dates have been announced): Newark, N.J.; Washington, D.C.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Chicago, Ill.; Benton Harbor and Highland Park, Mich. (combined); Flint and Detroit, Mich. (combined); Malden, Mass.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Newburgh, N.Y.

EPA statements regarding the LCR roundtables: “The roundtables will foster dialogue on the experience of communities that are affected by lead in drinking water as the agency reviews the LCR to ensure that it supports EPA’s priorities….The community roundtables will include local public water utilities, community organizations, environmental groups, and public officials….In addition to these geographically focused roundtables, EPA will also host national stakeholder roundtables with drinking water utilities, intergovernmental associations, environmental organizations, environmental justice organizations, public health organizations, and consumer associations.”

The ten roundtables will be live-streamed and can be viewed at this location (link for viewing not yet available, no registration required):

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/lead-and-copper-rule-revisions-virtual-engagements

EPA May 26, 2021 Press Release announcing the ten LCR roundtable locations:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ten-communities-selected-epa-roundtable-discussions-lead-drinking-water

Recordings of the Two Listening Sessions

Recordings of the April 28, 2021 and May 5, 2021, listening sessions can be viewed here (there 6 separate YouTube videos at this location, with a little over 8 hours of recorded material);

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0VBG2o4x4XIfp8XilDA1wQ/live

 

EPA Adds Treatment Information for 11 PFAS

Last week (May 2021), in a Press Release, EPA announced they had added treatment information for the following 11 PFAS compounds to their Drinking Water Treatability Database:

  • Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
  • Perfluorohexanesulfonamide (PFHxSA)
  • Perfluorobutylsulfonamide (PFBSA)
  • Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMOBA)
  • Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMOPrA)
  • Perfluoro-3,5,7,9-butaoxadecanoic acid (PFO4DA)
  • Fluorotelomer sulfonate 4:2 (FtS 4:2)
  • Ammonium 4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoate (ADONA)
  • Perfluoro-4-(perfluoroethyl)cyclohexylsulfonate (PFECHS)
  • F-53B: a combination of 9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid and 11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid
  • Perfluoro-2-{[perfluoro-3-(perfluoroethoxy)-2-propanyl]oxy}ethanesulfonic acid, also known as Nafion BP2

EPA Press Release:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-adds-new-pfas-its-drinking-water-treatability-database-0

Link to information about EPA’s Drinking Water Treatability Database:

https://www.epa.gov/water-research/drinking-water-treatability-database-tdb

Link to EPA’s Drinking Water Treatability Database:

https://tdb.epa.gov/tdb/home

3M Sues Michigan Over PFAS MCLs

Earlier this month (May 2021), 3M sued the State of Michigan in an effort to overturn MCLs adopted in August 2020 for seven PFAS (see below).

Michigan National Public Radio quoted from a 3M statement as follows:

“Environmental regulations should be set using established processes and rigorous science that provide public transparency and accountability for regulators. In its rush to establish these regulations, the State of Michigan acted arbitrarily without measured consideration of the scientific evidence, nor serious consideration of the costs, particularly considering the speculative benefits of these regulations’ enforcement. This lawsuit aims to prevent these arbitrary, burdensome restrictions from being implemented unless regulators follow prescribed processes for rulemaking.”

From Michigan’s Press Release here is part of the State’s response:

“3M profited for years from its sale of PFAS products and concealed its evidence of adverse health impacts from state and federal regulators,” said Attorney General Nessel.  “It is no coincidence that this out-of-state company is resorting to attempts to rewrite our state’s standards put in place to protect Michiganders from PFAS in their drinking water.  3M knows it is responsible to address contamination in Michigan and it has been unwilling to do so. Now, it wants to change the rules so that it can continue to shirk its responsibility to Michigan residents and to the health of the water resources that define our state.”

Michigan Press Release in response to the lawsuit:

https://www.michigan.gov/minewswire/0,4629,7-136-3452-558805–,00.html

Michigan National Public Radio article:

https://www.michiganradio.org/post/minnesota-based-3m-sues-michigan-over-pfas-regulations

Background

In 2017 Michigan created MPART [Michigan PFAS Action Response Team] in response to PFAS contamination throughout the State.  MPART consists of members from the following State government departments: Environment, Great Lakes and Energy; Health and Human Services; Natural Resources; Agriculture and Rural Development; Transportation; Military and Veteran Affairs; and Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

In March 2019, Governor Whitmer directed MPART to form a Science Advisory Workgroup that would “inform the rulemaking process for appropriate MCLs for PFAS.”   In June 2019 the three-member Science Advisory Workgroup recommended “health based” levels for the seven PFAS.  Three public hearings were held on the proposed MCLs in January 2020.  In August 2020 Michigan adopted final MCLs for the following seven PFAS:

PFNA (Perfluorononanoic acid) – 6 parts per trillion (ppt)

PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)  – 8 ppt

PFHxA (Perfluorohexanoic acid) – 400,000 ppt

PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid)  – 16 ppt

PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonate)  – 51 ppt

PFBS (Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid)  – 420 ppt

HFPO-DA (Hexafluoropropylene oxide or Gen-X) – 370 ppt

OEHHA Recommended Cyanotoxin NLs

OEHHA Recommended NLs for Cyanotoxins

On February 4, 2021 the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Division of Drinking Water (DDW) submitted a written request to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to develop recommended Notification Levels (NLs) for four cyanotoxins (copy of the February 4, 2021 DDW memo is here DDW Request to OEHAA for Cyanotoxin NLs_2021-02-04).

In response to that request, on May 3, 2021 OEHHA submitted the following recommended NLs to the SWRCB:

Anatoxin-a – Recommended NL 4 µg/L

Saxitoxins – Recommended Interim NL: 0.6 µg/L

Microcystins – Recommended Interim NL 0.03 µg/L

Cylindrospermopsin – Recommended Interim NL: 0.3 µg/L

Two memos from OEHHA to the SWRCB providing background and how the NLs were calculated are here (OEHHA NL_Anatoxin_2021-05-03 OEHHA_Interim NLs_Three Cyanotoxins_2021-05-03 ).

For three of the cyanotoxins, OEHHA recommended that the NLs be used on an interim basis “…while it completes its review of the sizeable database of recent toxicity studies on these cyanotoxins and derives final recommendations.”

Link to OEHHA announcement;

https://oehha.ca.gov/water/crnr/notice-availability-notification-level-recommendations-four-cyanotoxins-drinking-water

Consumer Reports, NDMA, Watershed Tool

Here are some items that may be of interest.

Consumer Reports/Guardian Nine-Month Study of Drinking Water

Consumer Reports and The Guardian published an article on a nine-month study they conducted to test drinking water around the United States (“We sampled tap water across the US – and found arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals”).  Towards the end of the article there is a list of communities where samples were collected.

Consumer Reports article:

https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/how-safe-is-our-drinking-water-a0101771201/

Same article posted in The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/31/americas-tap-water-samples-forever-chemicals

Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and NDMA Study

Last week the Massachusetts DPH released a study (copy enclosed WILMINGTON-Childhood-Cancer-Study-Final-Report_3-24-21) on the association of childhood cancers and exposure to NDMA in drinking water.  The text below is quoted from the DPH Press Release:

“The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Environmental Health (DPH) has completed a long-running epidemiological study evaluating potential environmental contributors to elevated rates of childhood cancer observed in the town of Wilmington during the 1990s. Results of the study suggest an association between maternal (i.e. prenatal) exposure to carcinogenic compounds previously contaminating the Wilmington public water supply and development of childhood cancer, particularly leukemia or lymphoma, during this time period.”

“The study focused on exposure to n-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a contaminant that originated from a now-defunct chemical manufacturing facility…”

Massachusetts DPH Press Release:

https://www.mass.gov/news/state-study-suggests-link-between-elevated-rates-of-childhood-cancer-in-wilmington-in-the-1990s-and-formerly-contaminated-public-water-supply

Boston Globe article:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/25/metro/after-decades-study-state-officials-link-drinking-water-contamination-with-elevated-rates-childhood-cancer-wilmington/

Watershed Management Tool

On April 29, 2021, from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (ET), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a training webinar on EPA’s “Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool (WMOST).”  A copy of the announcement is enclosed ( EPA Watershed Tool_WMOST).

The text below is taken from the enclosed announcement:

“EPA’s Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool (WMOST) is a decision support tool to facilitate integrated water management at the watershed and community scales. It allows users to determine the most cost-effective suite of

wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, and land conservation management practices to meet both water quantity (flood or combined sewer overflow reductions, sustainable water supply) and water quality goals (meeting water quality criteria or pollutant loading targets). WMOST allows users to evaluate 11 stormwater control measures, nonstructural stormwater measures (street

sweeping, urban canopy, outfall enhancements), four agricultural conservation practices, riparian buffer restoration, land conservation, water conservation, repair of infiltration/inflow to sewer lines, improved wastewater treatments, water reuse and aquifer recharge.”

Link to register:

https://www.epa.gov/research-states/forms/register-epa-tools-resources-training-webinar-watershed-management