Drinking Water Quality Council Recommends Nation's Most Protective Maximum Contaminant Levels for Three Unregulated Contaminants in Drinking Water

New York State Health Commissioner to Consider Council Recommendations and to Commence a Rule Making Process That Includes 60-Day Public Comment Period

$200 Million Previously Announced to Provide Support and Assistance for Communities Statewide

ALBANY, N.Y. – (December 18, 2018) - The New York State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation today announced that the New York State Drinking Water Quality Council has recommended that the Department of Health adopt the nation's most protective maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOA, PFOS, as well as the nation's first MCL for 1,4-dioxane. Specifically, the Council recommended MCLs of 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA, 10 ppt for PFOS, and an MCL of 1 part per billion (ppb) for 1,4-dioxane. All three contaminants have been detected in drinking water systems across the country, yet remain unregulated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for setting regulatory limits under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

In the absence of federal leadership, the New York State Drinking Water Quality Council was enacted as part of the FY2018 Budget to identify strategies to protect the quality of New York's drinking water. The 12-member Council is chaired by New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker and includes State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos and 10 other individuals appointed for their expertise in water system operations, risk assessment, toxicology, microbiology, and environmental engineering. The Council was formed to address emerging drinking water contaminants, and initially tasked with recommending MCLs for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane to the Commissioner of Health. An MCL is the maximum level of a contaminant allowed in public drinking water, which, once established, creates a legally enforceable standard that requires water systems to monitor, report findings and keep the contaminant below the level set.Exceedances must be reported to the public and require mitigation once enacted.

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, "After careful consideration and collaboration with drinking water quality experts and water system operators, this Council has recommended the nation's most protective maximum contaminant levels for unregulated contaminants in drinking water. I thank the council membership for their recommendation and hard work in reaching this conclusion. The Council's actions further demonstrate the importance of protecting the health and wellbeing of its citizens and I will take their recommendation under close advisement."

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "Today, Governor Cuomo's Drinking Water Quality Council has recommended the most protective MCLs for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane in the nation. I commend my colleagues on the council for their essential leadership on this issue, particularly in light of the continued lack of leadership at the federal level. I look forward to working with our state agency partners at the Department of Health on the regulatory work ahead of us and our continued work to ensure all New Yorkers have access to clean water."

Council Recommends Nation's Most Protective MCLs for PFOA/PFOS

The Drinking Water Quality Council recommended that the Department of Health adopt an MCL of 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 10 ppt for PFOS. These levels, which would be the lowest in the nation, take into consideration the national adult population's "body burden," or the fact that all adults already have some level of exposure to these and other related chemicals.PFOA is a chemical that has been used to make non-stick, stain resistant, and water repellant products and PFOS is a chemical that has been used in fire-fighting foam. The State has invested millions through the State Superfund program to install granular activated carbon filtration (GACs) systems that are successfully removing PFOA and PFOS from impacted water supplies. Ultimately, as with any environmental remediation, the State is holding the responsible polluters accountable for expenses incurred at state and local levels.

Council Recommends First in the Nation MCL for 1,4-dioxane

The Drinking Water Quality Council recommended that the Department of Health adopt a first in the nation MCL of 1.0 part per billion (ppb) for 1,4-dioxane. 1,4-dioxane is a chemical that has been used as a stabilizer in solvents, paint strippers, greases and wax. The State approved an effective new treatment technology for 1,4-dioxane called Advanced Oxidative Process (AOP), which is already being utilized by the Suffolk County Water Authority on Long Island.

Regulatory Process, Public Comment and MCL Adoption

The Drinking Water Quality Council recommendations will now be considered by the Commissioner of Health, who has authority to either accept the recommended MCLs or to proposealternate MCLs, through the notification of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the New York State Register. Publication will be followed by a 60-day public comment period. Following assessment ofpublic comments,the proposed regulation will either be revised orsubmitted for adoption bythe Public Health and Health Planning Council,subject tothe approval of theCommissioner of Health.The regulation would go into effect upon publication ofaNotice ofAdoption in the New York State Register.Once adopted, publicwater systems of all sizes would need to test their water within the specified timeframes in the regulations and comply with the adopted MCLs.

Funding for Emerging Contaminants

In October, Governor Cuomo announced $200 million in grant funding to help communities address PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane in their drinking water supplies. The funding will provide support and assistance for communities to combat these emerging contaminants. Of the grant funding, $185 million is available tocommunities across the state to upgrade drinking water treatment systems to combat emerging contaminants, prioritizing PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane. The remaining $15 million has already been awarded to communities pursuing system upgrades and innovative pilot technologies to treat these emerging contaminants. Additionally, the Governor directed the Department of Health, Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Environmental Facilities Corporation to provide technical assistance to communities to help assess system needs and apply for grant funding to address all three of these emerging contaminants

New York State leads the nation with the largest annual investment in water quality infrastructure of any state. The $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017 continues to help local governments pay for water infrastructure construction projects, address water emergencies, and investigate and mitigate emerging contaminants to ensure access to clean, drinkable water for all New Yorkers. Part of that investment includes the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act and Intermunicipal Grant programs which, since 2015, have provided $480 million in grant funding supporting nearly $1.9 billion in total project costs for 290 vital drinking and wastewater infrastructure projects in New York State. Combined with zero- or low-interest financings through the State Environmental Facilities Corporation, nearly $1.2 billion has been saved for taxpayers and more than 31,000 jobs have been created.