Federal
-
The House Appropriations Committee is proposing to eliminate funding for the Clean Water and Drink Water State Revolving Funds by more than half in the FY24 budget. It’s critical that your Senators and Representative hears from you about the need to maintain federal funding for critical local water infrastructure investments. Use WEF Water Advocates call-to-action to send a message today!
-
The California State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of new, streamlined regulations for direct potable reuse, making it the second state to do so after Colorado. The rules would likely take effect in mid- to late-2024 following action from the state Office of Administrative Law and will allow water systems to recycling wastewater for drinking water applications. Read the approved resolution.
PFAS
In case you missed it! EPA has taken the following actions on PFAS in the last three months:
-
In December 2023, the EPA released its second annual report on PFAS progress. The report highlights significant accomplishments achieved under the EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration’s all of government strategy to protect communities from the impacts of forever chemicals. Read the report.
-
In October 2023, EPA released a final rule that will improve reporting on PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) by eliminating an exemption that allowed facilities to avoid reporting information on PFAS when those chemicals were used in small concentrations. Under this new rule, EPA will receive more comprehensive data on PFAS and looks forward to sharing these data with our partners and the public. Review the Final Rule.
-
EPA has finalized a rule that will provide EPA, its partners, and the public with the largest-ever dataset of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and used in the United States.The reporting rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a statutory requirement under the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that requires all manufacturers (including importers) of PFAS and PFAS-containing articles in any year since 2011 to report information related to chemical identity, uses, volumes made and processed, byproducts, environmental and health effects, worker exposure, and disposal to EPA. Read more.
-
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its framework for addressing new and new uses of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The framework outlines EPA’s planned approach when reviewing new PFAS and new uses of PFAS to ensure that, before these chemicals are allowed to enter into commerce, EPA will undertake an extensive evaluation to ensure they pose no harm to human health and the environment. The framework supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address the impacts of these forever chemicals and advances EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to confront the human health and environmental risks of PFAS pollution.