By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
Environmental organizations gave state regulators a really bad time–deservedly so–when the DEP appeared to be dragging its heels on adopting health standards for a new type of dangerous chemicals, PFAS. The state finally acted, surprising most by not only adopting (on an interim basis) the standards but making them the toughest in the country. Now, it’s DEP’s turn to pester and cajole. Officials there have sent letters to the federal EPA requesting support for New Jersey’s enforcement of the new regulations at military bases and other possible federal sites where drinking water is contaminated or threatened by these potentially cancer-causing compounds. What’s the Trump Administration’s response? You guessed it: Delay. Legal obfuscation. Stonewalling. Following is the latest on the situation from a newspaper reporter who has been following the PFAS story from the beginning–and winning awards for his work.
Kyle Bagenstose reports for the Burlington County Times
New Jersey created standards for PFAS chemicals and says they’re the law of the land. The EPA disagrees, and the military isn’t using them either. The dispute could have huge implications for PFAS cleanup on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is having a tough time getting the federal government to recognize clean water standards for toxic PFAS chemicals, according to a series of letters exchanged between regulators and a statement from the U.S. Air Force.
Short for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are chemicals of growing concern, after they were used for decades in a variety of commercial products, such as non-stick cookware and firefighting foams used by the military and private airports. They remain unregulated at the federal level, but New Jersey has become a national leader in setting state safety limits for the chemicals, after becoming concerned about potential human health effects such as high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, immunotoxicity, developmental delays, and some cancers.
Major PFAS contamination in drinking water has hit Philadelphia-area communities such as Warminster, Pennsylvania, and Paulsboro in New Jersey’s Gloucester County, but some experts think as much as 28% of water systems nationwide contain the chemicals in some amount.
Last April, the DEP formally signaled its intention to adopt state drinking water standards for two of the most well-known PFAS chemicals: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The DEP is proposing to set limits of 14 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 13 ppt for PFOS. Those limits would be just a fraction of a 70 ppt combined advisory limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The DEP is now in the midst of a one-year process to gather and respond to public comments on the proposal. But due to a quirk of state law, the DEP automatically created a 10 ppt “interim” standard for the chemicals until the regulations are finalized. That standard is applicable to groundwater and private drinking water wells contaminated above 10 ppt for either chemical.
While the DEP can enforce the interim standard for polluted sites under its jurisdiction, the EPA, Department of Defense, or other federal agencies would need to agree to use it on sites under their control.
It appears they’re not keen to do so, based on documents obtained through open records requests.
Last November, Mark Pedersen, the assistant commissioner for the DEP’s Site Remediation and Waste Management program, wrote a letter to the EPA’s regional office for New Jersey. He asked the agency to recognize the interim standards, arguing they meet the requirements spelled out under federal law to be used for cleanups.
“Interim standards should be accepted by the (EPA) and applicable at all federal sites in New Jersey,” Pedersen wrote.
Pedersen wrote the office again in April, roping PFAS in with several other state-regulated chemicals that he wanted the EPA to prioritize at contaminated sites under federal control. Pedersen even offered an example, saying there is likely PFAS contamination at the Curtis Paper Superfund site in Hunterdon County, and asked the EPA to sample for the chemicals there.
In a June response letter, Pat Evangelista, acting director of the EPA’s regional Superfund & Emergency Management Division, threw cold water on much of Pedersen’s requests. He said due to federal law requiring state standards be considered on a site-by-site basis, he was unable to offer any blanket assurances the EPA would use the interim standards.
“It would be inappropriate for us to make a general upfront determination that any or all existing or future (interim standards) will or will not be identified,” Evangelista wrote.
But Evangelista also went further, writing that in EPA’s estimation, the interim standards fly in the face of New Jersey’s own Administrative Procedures Act because they do not meet requirements for public input. EPA was ultimately “not persuaded” the state’s interim standards meet federal requirements, Evangelista wrote, adding that the agency does anticipate the finalized New Jersey standards would be “evaluated” as appropriate cleanup levels.
In a separate letter, Evangelista also clarified that the EPA is sampling for the chemicals identified in Pedersen’s second letter during regular five-year reviews at Superfund sites in the state.
Asked about the EPA’s letters, DEP spokesman Larry Hajna last month stood by the state’s assessment that its interim standards are acceptable and enforceable.
“The DEP’s goal is to ensure that decisions on remediation activities at all sites are driven by applicable groundwater quality standards. Ten parts per trillion is currently the standard all responsible parties must follow when making decisions regarding remediation activities for PFOA and PFOS,” Hajna wrote in an email.
Hajna added that the state is communicating those requirements to all “responsible parties” at polluted sites, and is itself using the standard at some locations, providing bottled water to those exposed above the standards.
Cleanup on Joint Base
New Jersey’s state standards also have potentially massive implications at military sites such as Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, where testing has found PFAS levels as high as 264,000 ppt in groundwater. A number of private and public water wells have also been found to contain the chemicals.
The military is currently in the midst of environmental investigation at the Joint Base, as it is at hundreds of other bases across the country. But as previously reported, many communities and environmental advocates are unhappy with the speed of cleanup at military sites, and several states have attempted to use their own regulations to force the military to move more quickly on cleanup.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics.
It’s packed with the latest news, commentary and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond.
Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
