This story is republished from NM Political Report, a nonprofit news outlet, as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to Albuquerque.
By Hannah Grover
Federal lawmakers are once again seeking to protect drinking water and wastewater utilities from some of the costs associated with PFAS contamination.
A bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washington, and Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, if enacted, would shield utilities from legal costs and cleanup liabilities associated with PFAS contamination.
“Water utilities and their customers should not be forced to pay remediation costs for issues they did not create,” Water Environment Federation Executive Director Ralph Exton said in a news release.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated two types of PFAS — PFOA and PFOS — as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
Local utilities expressed concerns that they would need to pay to remove PFAS from drinking water, which can be an expensive endeavor.
Wastewater utilities also had concerns that they could be at risk because PFAS enters their systems through household use. For example, cosmetics, cookware and cleaners can contain PFAS.
“PFAS chemicals harm our health and kids’ development — and water utilities are working hard to treat and dispose of these substances,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a news release. “Our bipartisan bill will prevent water utilities and ratepayers from bearing the brunt of PFAS cleanup costs, which would disproportionately harm small and rural communities — and instead help ensure the companies that produced the chemicals are accountable, not our ratepayers.”
The EPA included an enforcement discretion policy to shield these utilities from being held responsible for PFAS contamination and facing cleanup liabilities. But supporters of the latest legislation say the policy is insufficient to ensure the utilities and their customers will be permanently protected from potential legal costs and cleanup liability.
In New Mexico, water utility provider EPCOR — which provides drinking water to Clovis — is struggling with high levels of PFAS in its wells. EPCOR now wants to use up to $3 million in state revolving loan fund money to develop a pilot modular wellhead treatment system that will remove PFAS from the groundwater wells, which provide 25% of the water to Clovis. EPCOR says this is needed to comply with the EPA maximum contaminant levels.
“The Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act will ensure that polluters are held responsible for cleaning up the PFAS they introduced into the environment, rather than water utilities and their ratepayers,” American Water Works Association CEO David LaFrance said in a news release. “Introducing this legislation is an important first step toward protecting local communities from having to shoulder the significant financial burden of cleaning up PFAS contamination they did not cause.”