EPA Unveils Plan To Handle Toxic Chemicals In Local Water

BOULDER, CO -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 14 unveiled a long-anticipated plan to regulate PFOA and PFOS in local drinking water supplies. The toxic chemicals have been linked to low birth weights, diabetes, cancer and other health problems, and some were found at elevated levels last summer in the water supply for the Sugarloaf Fire Protection District in west Boulder County.

At the press conference in Philadelphia Thursday, EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced a new Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan designed to address short- and long-term public concerns.

The EPA announcement detailed plans to continue work toward establishing maximum contaminant levels for the chemicals, to investigate options for clean-up, and to increase monitoring, research, and communication efforts.

"We are moving forward with several important actions, including the maximum contaminant level process, that will help affected communities better monitor, detect, and address PFAS," said Wheeler.

According to a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment statement at the time, the contamination appeared to be "limited to a small area near two fire stations in the mountains seven miles west of Boulder." Firefighting foams used in cities across the country contain PFCs to help suppress flames. Measurements of PFC contamination of well water near fire stations can hit as high as 1,200 ppt, Boulder County public health spokeswoman Chana Goussepis told the Denver Post.

Environmental advocacy groups expressed dissatisfaction with the scope and proposed speed of the newly announced efforts.

“This is a non-action plan, designed to delay effective regulation of these dangerous chemicals in our drinking water," said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter in a statement Thursday. "The big winners today are polluting corporations, not the people affected by this industrial waste in their drinking water supplies.”

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