What does this mean for utilities? USEPA’s Proposed PFAS MCLs

On March 14, 2023, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced their proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) for select per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This announcement marks USEPA’s first commitment to regulate new contaminants in drinking water in over 20 years, and once finalized, will have widespread impacts on the drinking water industry.

How did we get to this point?

Outside of a few select communities, PFAS was not considered to be an issue until around 2013 when the first results started to be recorded from samples collected under the third round of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3) program. In 2016, USEPA revised the health advisory levels (HALs) for PFOS and PFOA, two of the most prevalent and studied PFAS, to 70 ng/L for the sum of the two compounds, and in response to more recent developments in the understanding of PFAS toxicity, several states enacted maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) that were even lower yet. During this period of time, most actions taken on PFAS were at the state level, however that changed in October of 2021 when USEPA released their PFAS Strategic Roadmap , a whole-of-agency approach to managing PFAS in the environment. Included as part of the commitments in the Roadmap were revised HALs for PFOS and PFOA which were set at 0.02 ng/L and 0.004 ng/L, respectively, in June 2022. Also included were new HALs for PFBS and HFPO-DA (GenX), at 2,000 ng/L and 10 ng/L, respectively. All of this culminating in the proposed MCLs released in March.

Proposed Pfas Regulations

For purposes of compliance, a running annual average is used similar to disinfection byproduct averages. Utilities should use two significant figures when rounding and samples under the PQL will count as zero for calculating averages.

Timeline

What’s included in USEPA’s proposed MCLs?

Included in the proposed regulation1 are limits for six PFAS – PFOS, PFOA, PFBS, HFPO-DA (GenX), PFHxS, and PFNA. MCLs for PFOS and PFOA are set at 4 ng/L individually, and each has a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of 0 ng/L. These MCLs align with the practical quantitation level (PQL) for USEPA’s approved test methods 537.1 and 533. For the other four compounds, rather than using individual MCLs, USEPA is proposing to use a Hazard Index (HI) as a way of managing the combined risk of exposure to these compounds. This method, commonly used in site remediation activities, compares the concentration of individual compounds to established health-based water concentrations. If the resulting ratio is >1.0, the utility is in violation of the regulation.

Monitoring

Initial monitoring for these six compounds is required quarterly for large groundwater systems and all surface water systems. Small groundwater systems, serving less than 10,000 customers, are required to sample twice annually with a minimum of 90 days between samples. Samples are collected at the entry point to the distribution system.

If systems can show sample results consistently under 1/3rd of the PQL, that is 1.3 ng/L for the MCLs, or 0.33 for the HI, reduced monitoring may be appropriate. Reduced monitoring allows for large groundwater systems and all surface water systems to collect two samples over the course of a year, every three years. Small groundwater systems may collect one sample every three years.

March 14, 2023

Draft MCLs announced

May 4, 2023

EPA Public hearing

December 2023*

MCLs finalized

December 2028*

Utility compliance waiver ends (case-by-case basis)

Late May 2023*

60-day public comment pariod ends

Docket ID Number: EPA=HQ-OW-2022-0114

December 2026*

MCLs become enforcable standards for drinking water utilities

*anticipated dates

The publication of the draft NPDWR in the Federal Register is scheduled for March 29, 2023, which will kick off a 60 day public comment period. USEPA is still committed to maintaining the schedule for the finalization of the rule as laid out in the Roadmap, with the rule going into effect at the end of 2023. After three years, the MCLs and HI will become enforceable standards for all drinking water utilities. In certain, case by case instances, two additional years can be granted by the primacy agency.

PFAS in Utah

Samples collected through UCMR3 and Utah Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) sampling indicated low occurrence of PFAS in drinking water, but much of that testing was above the proposed MCL. For example, the UCMR3 sample detection limit was high (PFOA detection limit: 20 ng/L, PFOS detection limit: 40 ng/L) compared to the proposed MCL of 4 ng/L. The DEQ performed further testing from 2020 – 2022, with lower detection limits. According to data provided by the State2 , 148 samples were analyzed from 43 different water systems. Of those samples, 3% were above the proposed PFOA MCL and 2% above the PFOS MCL. This data is encouraging, however more sampling may increase PFAS detection in Utah’s drinking water. Future PFAS monitoring is already planned for all water systems serving more than 3,300 people as part of UCMR5.

In 2020, the DEQ identified the following sources as the most likely to contribute to PFAS contamination in the state3:

• Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFFs)

• Over 74 different Utah businesses/industries

• Landfills: solid and hazardous waste disposal

• Municipal wastewater: Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) and industrial wastewater treatment plants

What can utilities do now to get ahead?

Sometimes the best first step is to look more broadly to see solutions from a higher level. To help get a handle on PFAS in your system, here are some early steps you can take to get ahead:

• Understand the impact of new regulations (e.g., state and federal HALs and MCLs) on public notifications and your water system

• Establish a sampling program early to understand the extent of PFAS in source waters and through the treatment process.

• Develop a plan as needed for mitigation and management

• Create public communication on PFAS to build trust with customers

• Depending on PFAS levels detected in source water, conduct a Treatment Feasibility Study to budget for capital improvements and increased operation and maintenance (O&M) cost

• Develop a one-water approach to investigate PFAS management utility-wide to understand impacts from PFAS across your system and establish short- and long- term management goals. This is particularly important for system that manage water and wastewater processes, and helps to minimize potential future liabilities associated with PFAS disposal.

• Identify sources of PFAS contamination and understand legal and technical options

• Communicate with councils and boards to inform selection of water quality goals

• Consider non-treatment options including, but not limited to, shutting down wells, using alternative sources of supply, regionalization with neighboring systems, or blending/side stream treatment

• Bench-scale and/or pilot testing to evaluate and select treatment technology and media (i.e. for Granular Activated Carbon [GAC] and Ion Exchange [IX]) as step to develop full-scale PFAS treatment (see example of full-scale GAC Facility application)

• Identify funding or finance resources to help you get started.

In the past decade, with growing focus on PFAS, a wealth of resources including health impact research, technical guidebooks, and case- studies have been developed to support communities dealing with PFAS. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) provides a PFAS Risk Communications HUB with a collection of related information that is updated regularly with the latest health research, regulatory requirements, and technical resources (www.astho. org/PFAS). Additionally, AWWA has developed several resources for technical practitioners, accessible through the website.

1 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), “Proposed PFAS

National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Frequently Asked Questions and Answers”, 3/14/2023

2 Utah Division of Drinking Water, “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Drinking Water Sampling Results in Utah,” Updated 2/27/2023, https://utahdeq. maps.arcgis.com (Accessed 3/23/2023).

3 Utah Department of Environmental Quality, “Reconnaissance Plan for Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Utah”, Final Draft, 2020, p. 6

Kyle Hay, P.E., is a Brown and Caldwell (BC) Utilities PFAS Lead and co-leader of BC’s PFAS Initiative. He has 8 years of water treatment experience and is based in Manchester, NH (khay@brwncald.com).

Laurie Sullivan, P.E., BCEE is a Regional Drinking Water Leader and client service manager with BC. She has 30+ years of water treatment experience and is based in Denver, CO (lsullivan@ brwncald.com).

Adam Jones, P.E., is currently serving as the AWWA IMS Young Professional’s Committee Chair. He is a process engineer with BC with 8 years of water treatment experience and is based in Sandy, Utah. (ajones1@brwncald.com).

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