EPA would have two years to promulgate national drinking water regulations for four high-profile contaminants under legislation introduced on March 2 by New York’s senators.
Sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), S. 519 would direct EPA to publish maximum contaminant level goals and promulgate national drinking water regulations for perchlorate, PFOS, PFOA and 1,4 dioxin within two years of passage of the legislation.
PFOS, PFOA, and 1,4 dioxin are all listed on EPA’s contaminant candidate list, though the agency has not made a determination on whether they warrant national regulation. In 2011, EPA determined that perchlorate meets the Safe Drinking Water Act’s criteria for regulation as a contaminant, but the agency has yet to issue a regulation. Passage of S. 519 would jumpstart the regulatory process for each contaminant.
In a statement, Sen. Gillibrand said the bill would require “EPA to come up with strong and enforceable safety standards for these toxins, so that no other community has to experience what Hoosick Falls, Newburgh, and Long Island have gone through over the last year.” Each of those communities recently detected elevated levels of PFOA or PFOS in their drinking water supplies.
Senate Republican leaders have not commented on S. 519, but in the past the GOP has been reluctant to advance legislation that directs EPA to regulate particular contaminants outside of the process established through the Safe Drinking Water Act.