New EPA Guidance on PFAS and Safe Drinking Water: Health Advisories, Regional Screening Levels, Remediation Levels

Description

On June 15, 2022, the EPA released significantly reduced lifetime drinking water health advisory levels (HALs) for four PFAS under its Safe Drinking Water Act authority. Lifetime HALs identify the concentration of chemicals in drinking water over an individual's lifetime at or below which adverse health effects are not anticipated.

While HALs are not enforceable standards and are non-regulatory, they are often used in developing drinking water regulations and limits, influence state and local regulations, and shape the public debate around the safety of particular chemicals.

The EPA's newly announced HALs will impact the development of future federal and state regulation, affect the identification and cleanup of contaminated sites, foreshadow potential litigation trends, and signal to industries that are dealing with PFAS of the EPA's possible approach to future regulation and guidance. The updated advisories for PFOA and PFOS are orders of magnitude lower than those identified by EPA in 2016. Its HALs for GenX and PFBS reflect EPA's intent to address potential PFAS exposure aggressively.

The newly announced HALs may galvanize the push for more stringent cleanup requirements across the country while also acting as a springboard for stricter enforcement at the state level. Because HALs (both interim and final) are not enforceable standards, they would not be considered Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs) under CERCLA. Still, they may be referenced as "TBC" (to be considered), similar to a guidance document.

Listen as our expert panel discusses the effect of these new HALs and how this step of the PFAS Roadmap shapes what is likely to come in the future regarding regulating forever chemicals.