EPA’s PFAS Interim Strategy for Certain EPA-Issued Wastewater Permits

December 23, 2020

On November 30, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it is aggressively addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment. The agency announced two steps that it states would help ensure that federally enforceable wastewater monitoring for PFAS can begin as soon as validated analytical methods are finalized.

First, EPA issued a memorandum detailing an interim National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting strategy for addressing PFAS in EPA-issued wastewater permits.

EPA’s interim NPDES permitting strategy for PFAS advises EPA permit writers to consider including PFAS monitoring at facilities where these chemicals are expected to be present in wastewater discharges, including from municipal separate storm sewer systems and industrial stormwater permits. The PFAS that could be considered for monitoring will have validated EPA analytical methods for wastewater testing. The agency anticipates being available on a phased-in schedule as multi-lab validated wastewater analytical methods are finalized. The agency’s interim strategy encourages the use of best management practices where appropriate to control or abate the discharge of PFAS and includes recommendations to facilitate information sharing to foster adoption of best practices across states and localities.

Second, EPA released information on progress in developing new analytical methods to test for PFAS compounds in wastewater and other environmental media.

In coordination with the interim NPDES permitting strategy, EPA is developing analytical methods in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense to test for PFAS in wastewater and other environmental media, such as soils. The agency is releasing a list of 40 PFAS chemicals that are the subject of analytical method development. This method would be in addition to Method 533 and Method 537.1 that are already approved and can measure 29 PFAS chemicals in drinking water. EPA anticipates that multi-lab validated testing for PFAS will be finalized in 2021. For more information on testing method validation, see https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods.

EPA continues to expand its PFAS Action Plan to protect the environment and human health.  To date, it has assisted more than 30 states in helping address PFAS, and the agency is continuing to build on this support. Across the nation, the EPA has addressed PFAS using a variety of enforcement tools under SDWA, TSCA, RCRA, and CERCLA (where appropriate), and will continue to protect public health and the environment.

The agency is also validating analytical methods for surface water, groundwater, wastewater, soils, sediments, and biosolids; developing new methods to test for PFAS in air and emissions; and improving laboratory methods to discover unknown PFAS. EPA is developing exposure models to understand how PFAS moves through the environment to impact people and ecosystems.

Related Information

• EPA published a validated method to test for and measure 29 chemicals in drinking water accurately.

• EPA implemented the agency’s PFAS Action Plan by proposing to regulate PFOA and PFOS drinking water, asked for information and data on other PFAS substances, and sought comment on potential monitoring requirements and regulatory approaches. The EPA anticipates proposing nationwide drinking water monitoring for PFAS that uses new methods to detect PFAS at lower concentrations than previously possible.

• EPA issued Interim Recommendations for Addressing Groundwater Contaminated with PFOA and PFOS, which guides federal cleanup programs (e.g., CERCLA and RCRA) and helpful to states and tribes.

• EPA is working on the proposed rule to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA. In the absence of the rule, EPA has used its existing authorities to compel cleanups.
• EPA issued a final regulation that added a list of 172 PFAS chemicals to Toxics Release Inventory reporting as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.
• EPA issued a final regulation that can stop products containing PFAS from entering or reentering the marketplace without EPA’s explicit permission.

Additional information about PFAS at www.epa.gov/pfas or on the SCS Industrial Wastewater Pre-treatment website.

This blog references information issued from the US EPA, Office of Public Engagement.