N.Y. should lead the way on water contamination standards

Dangerous chemicals from local manufacturing plants have contaminated the water supply in communities across New York state for decades, but the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to take timely action to address this growing public health crisis. On October 17, New York state’s Drinking Water Quality Council will meet to address the new federally recommended minimum risk levels for emerging contaminants. It is time for state lawmakers and regulators to take the lead in protecting New Yorkers from continued exposure to these harmful chemicals by establishing sensible and enforceable standards for New York state.

From Long Island to upstate, communities across New York are confronting the consequences of contaminated drinking water resulting from the use and disposal of dangerous chemicals called PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) by industrial manufacturing plants and military bases. In particular, a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) used to manufacture products ranging from non-stick pans to dental floss to stainresistant fabrics has been found in drinking water in Petersburgh and Hoosick Falls in Rensselaer County. One groundwater sample revealed PFOA levels in Hoosick Falls at 130,000 parts per trillion

(ppt), more than 18,000 times the EPA’S acceptable level of 70 ppt.

The contamination has left residents susceptible to a range of health issues, including low infant birth weights, immune system hazards, and increased cancer risks, as well as depressed property values after locations in both towns were declared Superfund sites. Petersburgh and Hoosick Falls residents have filed lawsuits against local manufacturers whose plants knowingly discharged the toxic chemicals, and a New York Supreme Court justice recently certified a class action of current and former community members in the Petersburgh case. This is the first time a class was certified for PFOA contamination in New York.

Meanwhile, residents continue to advocate for government intervention, but the EPA has not taken tangible action to remedy the contamination. In fact, former EPA head Scott Pruitt actively sought to block the publication of a federal health study that found PFAS chemicals posed health risks at lower levels than the EPA initially determined were safe. At the state level, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Clean Water Infrastructure Act in 2017 and recently announced an additional $200 million in grant funding to upgrade state drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, fund modern filtration systems, and regularly test for known contaminants.

Despite these initiatives, New York state still lacks a safe standard for PFAS contamination. A recently released study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry finds acceptable health advisory levels should be around 7 to 11 ppt, far lower than EPA’S current guidelines of 70 ppt. In light of the EPA’S inaction, other states have taken steps to adequately protect the drinking water of their residents. Last November, New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection imposed the strongest maximum contaminant levels (MCL) limit for PFAS in the country at 14 ppt for PFOA chemicals. If New York lawmakers truly wanted to be national leaders for water contamination protection, they could follow, or better yet, exceed the minimum risk levels outlined in August by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and set New York state’s MCL range no greater than between 10 ppt and 20 ppt, the safest currently known level of PFOA and PFOS exposure.

As communities across the country continue to face water contamination crises, state lawmakers must take action and regulate these dangerous chemicals by establishing a safe, sensible, enforceable maximum contaminant level to protect New York state residents from serious health risks.