DEP’s  PFOAs and PFOS standards moving forward

Today the DEP released a notice of rule proposal to amend the New Jersey Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rules at N.J.A.C. 7:10 to establish, as recommended by the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute (Institute), a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) of 0.014 micrograms per liter (µg/l) and an MCL for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) of 0.013 µg/l. In addition, the Department is proposing to amend the Ground Water Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9C to establish a specific ground water quality standard for PFOA of 0.014 µg/l and a specific ground water quality standard for PFOS of 0.013 µg/l.

 “DEP’s rule proposal in today’s register is the first major step towards making stricter standards for PFOAs and PFOS a reality. We waited 9 years for this day to finally happen and it is here. This is critical for protecting our drinking and groundwater. Standards for PFOS in our drinking water and groundwater will be 13ppt and PFOAs at 14ppt. These chemicals are associated with serious health risks where at repeated exposure can lead to development defects, liver and kidney problems and even tumors. New Jersey will soon have the toughest standard in the nation. said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Now the DEP need to adopt these standards as soon as possible. The sooner we do, the quicker we can start removing toxic chemicals from our drinking water and cleaning up toxic sites.”

The proposal includes monitoring requirements for PFOA and PFOS for public community and public nontransient noncommunity water systems. Further, the Department proposes to amend the Private Well Testing Act rules at N.J.A.C. 7:9E to require testing of private wells subject to sale or lease for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), PFOA, and PFOS and to amend the SDWA rules to require testing of newly constructed wells for public noncommunity water systems and nonpublic water systems for PFNA, PFOA, and PFOS.

“Major polluter like DuPont will have to abide by these standards once adopted. It will apply to Join Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst. The standard will be required by the Department of Defense to clean up the contamination there. PFOS was found at the base and the surrounding areas in Burlington County. In Salem and Gloucester County, PFOs found near the Solvay site were seven times over standard. We have even found PFOS in our fish, even from the most pristine areas,” said Tittel. “Repeated exposure to PFOS can lead to development defects in children and pregnant women, liver and kidney problems, and even tumors.”

New Jersey’s standard for PFOAs and PFOs will be the strongest in the nation. More importantly it will protect this state’s drinking water from the lack of action of the federal government to do so. The Trump Administration decided not to set a drinking water limit for two toxic chemicals known as PFOA and PFOS. This means there will be no federal requirements for utilities for testing or removing the chemicals from drinking water supplies.

“New Jersey has to make its our own standards for harmful chemicals in our water because we can’t trust the federal government to make stronger enough ones to protect our communities. We would like to see the standard at 5ppt, but 13-14ppt is still the strictest in the nation. We thank the Murphy Administration and DEP for proposing stricter standards for PFOAS and PFOS. It is critical that we move forward in adopting them. DEP must set stricter standards for the more than a dozen chemicals found in our waterways. It’s too important for our health and the environment,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. 

A public hearing(s) concerning the proposal is scheduled as follows:

Wednesday, May 15, 2019 2:00 P.M.

Department of Environmental Protection

401 East State Street

Trenton, NJ 08625

1st floor, Public Hearing room