PFAS Remain a Pennsylvania Focus
Governor Wolf’s PFAS Action Team’s efforts stalled a bit this past year. The Phase 1 results of the PFAS Sampling Plan were originally expected to be released periodically throughout 2020, however, no results have been provided since October of 2019. Further, Pennsylvania DEP has not progressed on establishing a maximum contaminant level for PFAS nor does it plan to deviate from the federally established health advisory levels.
That is not to say that the State of Pennsylvania has lost focus on PFAS. Approximately four million dollars were allocated in the omnibus spending bill passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature in late 2020 for infrastructure projects that address PFAS contamination in drinking water in certain townships. The PFAS National Multi-site Health Studies, which studies the health effects of PFAS in select locations including Montgomery and Bucks counties, continues as well. It is anticipated that the Pennsylvania Department of Health will begin to collect blood samples for the study in residents in 2021. Pennsylvania DEP’s efforts to finalize the addition of medium-specific concentrations for PFOA, PFOS, and PFBS are also progressing as expected. Currently, the proposed rulemaking is not expected to be finalized until April at the earliest.
