New England States Respond to PFAS Petitions Filed by Conservation Law Foundation

In December 2018, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed petitions with five New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire) to adopt drinking water standards for Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and at least two states have responded. The petitions specifically asked the states to promulgate a treatment technique drinking water standard for PFAS (at a minimum), or if not then adopt an MCL for PFAS (as a class of chemicals) or for each PFAS chemical that poses a risk to public water systems in their state and as an interim step immediately adopt Vermont’s Health Advisory level of 20 parts per trillion (ppt) as an MCL for the PFAS class. Following is some information about the Massachusetts and Vermont responses to the petition.

• Massachusetts’ Department of Environmental Protection held a public meeting on January 16th and responded to the CLF petition. The state has agreed to set a drinking water standard for five PFAS chemicals but has declined to regulate PFAS as a class. The final group of compounds for the development of a standard has not yet been determined.
• Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources responded to the CLF petition and has also agreed to set a drinking water standard for five PFAS chemicals and declined to regulate PFAS as a class.

For more information, visit the CLF website.