Funding Award Will Go Toward Construction of PFAS Treatment Plant In North Hills

ABINGTON, PA — Pennsylvania has approved its first funding award designed to assist communities in the remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, which are potentially toxic contaminants that have been discovered in water sources throughout the commonwealth.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s office recently announced that the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority has approved a $5.2 million principal forgiveness award to Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., to construct a pre-treatment filtration plant for the area serviced by the North Hills well station in Montgomery County.

North Hills is an unincorporated community that sits within Abington, Upper Dublin and Springfield Townships.

Aqua Pennsylvania is a for-profit water company regulated by the Pennsylvania Utility Commission.

According to the governor’s office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently has no established contaminant threshold for PFAS in drinking water, and the project at the North Hills well station is designed to proactively reduce the level of PFAS to zero parts per billion.

“Providing resources to combat potentially toxic exposure to PFAS sends a clear signal that I am deeply committed to clean water and safe infrastructure for all Pennsylvanians,” Wolf said in a statement. “This investment, as well as the funding program itself, establishes our commonwealth as a national leader in environmental stewardship and places a priority on protecting our most vulnerable populations.”

Read Patch's previous coverage of PFAS here.

Here is a fact sheet on PFAS.