Resolution #20-6 Proposed by: Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, Indiana
Calling for Federal Guidance and State Planning to Address Potential Contamination from PFAS Chemicals
WHEREAS,
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) are a large group of human-made chemicals used in consumer products and industrial processes, persist in the environment due to their chemical properties, 1 and have been found to adversely affect
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human health; and
WHEREAS,
to provide Americans with a margin of protection from a lifetime of exposure to two specific types of PFAS contaminants – per-fluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and per- fluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a health advisory level for drinking water of 70 parts per trillion; 2 and
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WHEREAS,
between 2000 and 2002, PFOS was voluntarily phased out of production in the U.S. by its
primary manufacturer, 3M; 3,4 and
WHEREAS,
Congress, under the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, provided the EPA Administrator with broad, singular subjective discretion to decide whether to
regulate PFAS, 5 and
WHEREAS,
EPA has been aware of and studying the potential health effects of PFOA/PFOS since
initiating a priority review in 2002; and
WHEREAS,
at least 12 states, frustrated with the lack of progress by Congress and the EPA, have adopted or proposed their own health guidelines or Maximum Contaminant Levels
(MCLs) for PFAS; and
WHEREAS,
on February 20, 2020, EPA announced the implementation of its PFAS Action Plan by proposing regulatory determinations for PFOS and PFOA in drinking water; 6 now
therefore be it 27 28 RESOLVED , that the Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus urges EPA to expedite establishing 29 an MCL for PFOS and PFOA based on risk to the public’s health; and be it further 30 31 RESOLVED , that, in the absence of an EPA standard, states and their respective regulatory agencies 32 should consider establishing a task force to collaborate with each other and with federal 33 agencies, regulators, and water and wastewater utilities to develop mitigation plans that 34 address: 35
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