Bill > S3180

Introduced Session

This bill would requires water purveyors to develop a plan that identifies an alternative water supply source to be used to provide water to the system's customers when an exceedance of a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for perfluoralkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is discovered. The bill further requires that when an exceedance of an MCL for PFAS is discovered, the public community water system would take immediate action to use the identified alternative water supply in order to provide water to its customers. PFAS are man-made chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms bonded to a chain of carbon atoms. Since the 1930s, PFAS have been widely used in countless consumer products because they repel oil, water, and grease. There are over 4,700 different types of PFAS, and new types are invented on a nearly daily basis. PFAS are commonly found in products such as polishes, waxes, paints, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, carpet treatments, fire extinguishing foam, dental floss, shampoos, waterproof clothing, food packaging, and even microwave popcorn. As a result, the presence of PFAS in the environment is widespread, and further exacerbated by multiple sources. The carbon-fluorine bond that forms PFAS is one of the strongest chemical bonds found in nature and does not break down under typical environmental conditions. As a result, PFAS are nicknamed "forever chemicals" because they accumulate, rather than break down, over time. PFAS may enter the environment in the following ways: (1) the disposal of products containing PFAS in landfills, thereby contaminating the surrounding soil, groundwater, and source water; (2) the utilization of PFAS by manufacturing sites, which may result in contamination of the surrounding ground and surface waters; (3) the utilization of sludge byproducts containing PFAS on agricultural land, thereby leading to water and soil contamination; (4) the discharge of PFAS by wastewater treatment plants into source waters that service public drinking water systems; and (5) the contamination of private wells by groundwater containing PFAS. The widespread presence of PFAS in the water, soil, and air, results in the contamination not only of public drinking water systems and wells, but also of the food products humans and animals ingest. Plants, fish, and livestock, are commonly exposed to PFAS-contaminated water or food and are consumed daily by most Americans. Studies have indicated that exposure to PFAS, and the resulting buildup of PFAS in the human body, may be linked to certain harmful health effects in both humans and animals. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were first developed in the 1940's and are the two most commonly found PFAS in the environment and are also the two most studied and regulated PFAS. In 2018, the DEP adopted amendments to its Safe Drinking Water Act regulations to establish drinking water standards for a common PFAS, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), at a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 13 parts per trillion. In 2020, the DEP adopted additional amendments to establish drinking water standards for PFOA at a MCL of 14 parts per trillion and for PFOS at a MCL of 13 parts per trillion. This bill would require public community water systems to have an alternative water source identified for use when an exceedance of these MCLs is discovered in the drinking water supplied by the system.

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Committee Categories

Linda Greenstein (D)*,  Bob Smith (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee (on 10/03/2022)

Official Document