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NGWA submitted comments on November 7, 2022 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its recently proposed rule to designate PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), which is commonly referred to as “Superfund.”
This rulemaking, if finalized, would increase transparency around the release of these chemicals and prompt regulatory actions regarding their cleanup and disposal. The proposed rule is the EPA’s latest action as part of its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, which outlines the agency’s strategy to address PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) nationwide.
In its submitted comments, NGWA states the proposed rule lacks information on the impact of the designations on the groundwater industry. The Association also states the rule is unclear on how it may impact other chemical control statutes such as the Clean Water Act.
“A key concern is that the proposed rule does not address important information regarding the effect of this designation on the regulatory processes of other existing chemical constituent control statutes such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Clean Water Act that would also regulate PFOA and PFOS and affect the groundwater industry,” said Chuck Job, NGWA’s regulatory affairs manager. “NGWA comments are directed toward a more holistic regulatory approach to PFAS contaminants. Additionally, the proposed rule raises many questions about how the measurement of a reportable amount of hazardous substance would occur.”
Click here to read NGWA’s comments.
NGWA has long been an industry leader in providing PFAS research, education, and resources to the public and scientific communities. Learn more by visiting NGWA.org/PFAS, which is a complete resource center about the groundwater contaminants featuring a recently updated top-10 facts sheet, a position paper, and more.
Also found there is Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which NGWA published in 2017 and is one of the first PFAS guidance documents to be released. The Association recently hosted its second conference in Westerville, Ohio, focused entirely on PFAS science and remediation.