HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has sent its final rule for regulating certain types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water to the Office of Management and Budget for review, according to the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, a professional organization serving state drinking water programs.
U.S. EPA made its submission on Dec. 15, and although it’s unclear how long OMB will take to review the rule, U.S. EPA’s most recent Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions states the goal is to publish the rule by January 2024, according to the association.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are known as “forever” chemicals because their components break down very slowly over a long period of time. Exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to various adverse health impacts, including increased risk of certain cancers.
The U.S. EPA is proposing maximum contaminant levels for six types of PFAS and, if finalized, the regulations will require public water systems to monitor for the substances, notify the public and reduce levels of PFAS if they exceed proposed standards, according to the federal agency. Drinking water systems will be required to meet the MCLs after an implementation period.
Types of PFAS have been detected at elevated levels in Guam water wells both off and on military bases. Some of these wells were shut off, while others were fitted with filters.
The Guam Waterworks Authority has granulated activated carbon filters at a few locations on the island, but additional sites may require treatment based on the proposed regulations. GWA is studying how best to do that, including the feasibility of a centralized treatment system over individual ones. Testing of other treatment methods also will be conducted to evaluate efficacy.
But, as with all capital improvement projects, GWA will need to secure funding for construction.
There are also concerns over the disposal of spent filters. Not only will this be an ongoing operational cost for GWA, but spent media contains PFAS. According to Guam EPA, disposal in the future will depend on whether U.S. EPA declares PFAS filtration waste to be hazardous waste. For now, GWA’s spent filtration media are being stored.
Water runs from a silver faucet into a sink on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.
