National Rural Water Association informed us that the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) will be hosting a hearing on March 20th on the most important water policy debate proceeding in Congress right now: which is who has the responsibility to pay for the cost of cleaning up PFAS contamination which has become widespread in our water supply. We are trying to make the case for water utilities and the need to exempt them from the catastrophic costs of PFAS liability.

CERCLA stands for the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act Site Screening Section conducts CERCLA site assessments on sites with confirmed or suspected contamination to document whether a release of hazardous substances has occurred and to evaluate potential threats to nearby receptors, including but not limited to drinking water wells and surface water bodies. The purpose of the “PFAS in CERCLA” hearing on March 20th is to provide an on the record venue to deliberate the consequences of this serious problem and compel the Committee to act with a narrowly tailored legislative exemption for water and wastewater systems from CERCLA liability.  

FRWA has submitted a letter asking the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leadership for their support. Click here for a copy of the letter we submitted.

We need your help! Please voice your support of this effort by asking our Senators to advocate for you with the Committee's leadership and protect your rate payers.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Would you please consider contacting our Senators Rubio and Scott to express your support for this important issue? You can do so by clicking on the links below and copying and pasting the information listed below in the Senator’s contact page on their website. All you have to do is complete your contact information (if asked for Topic select "Environment") and copy and paste the information below into their respective forms. At the bottom of your message, please include a closing statement with details on your water utility and positions with water utility.

Click here to contact Senator Rubio by copying and pasting the information below.

Click here to contact Senator Scott by copying and pasting the information below.

SUBJECT OF YOUR MESSAGE/PLEASE TYPE THE SUBJECT OF YOUR MESSAGE

Request of your support for liability protections under CERCLA for water and wastewater systems

YOUR MESSAGE/MESSAGE

On behalf of our water utility of Florida, we are requesting that you contact Senator Thomas Carper (Chairman) and Senator Shelley Moor Capito (Ranking Member) of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works expressing your support for liability protections under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for water and wastewater systems that follow all laws and regulations in the treatment and disposal of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). We are one of the small and rural communities that serves people across Florida, and we are seriously concerned about the implications of potential CERCLA liability on our customers/ratepayers.

In August 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to designate two PFAS – PFOA and PFOS – as hazardous substances under CERCLA. EPA is also in the process of soliciting public feedback to designate additional PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under CERCLA. Though CERCLA is intended to target manufacturers and polluters who knowingly released these chemicals into the environment, the law does not explicitly protect passive receivers like water and wastewater systems who merely convey PFAS through no fault of our own. Civil enforcement and CERCLA liability are inappropriate federal solutions for addressing PFAS contamination in our communities.

To protect public health, water and wastewater utilities will soon be responsible for treating and disposing of PFAS chemicals. Without an explicit exemption from liability under CERCLA, our water and wastewater systems could incur catastrophic CERCLA legal defense fees and liability costs for the cleanup of PFAS contamination, despite having never manufactured, used, or profited from PFAS. The testing, treatment and disposal costs related to PFAS contamination will place a significant financial burden on us. This dynamic is especially problematic in our community and other communities that are economically disadvantaged and serve populations with limited resources. Manufacturers and polluters should not have the opportunity to shift their own financial burden onto the ratepayers that we serve.

As the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works considers legislation to address PFAS, we urge you to uphold CERCLA’s “polluter pays” principle and protect water systems and the ratepayers we serve by supporting a narrowly tailored legislative exemption for water and wastewater utilities from PFAS-related liability.

Thank you for your time and attention to this very important request.

Insert closing statement with details on your water utility and positions with water utility.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced multiple funding awards to help counties in parts of northern Florida develop infrastructure, workforce training and continue recovery from 2023’s Hurricane Idalia. more

Next week FRWA will be traveling to Haines City and Ocala for the first two meetings of the Thirty-Third year of Focus on Change. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will be onsite to update operators on new regulations that could affect their system.

For more information on Focus on Change, click here. Be sure to register early by clicking on the location below. See you there!

Click on the front of the magazine below to browse the pages of the latest copy of the magazine presented by the National Rural Water Association.

NATIONAL NEWS

EPA expands Superfund cleanup list - E&E News by POLITICO “Cleaning up contaminated land and groundwater and returning them for productive use to communities is a win-win-win,” Administrator Michael Regan said. more

Harmful 'forever chemicals' removed from water with new electrocatalysis method A novel approach using laser-made nanomaterials created from nonprecious metals could lay the foundation for globally scalable remediation techniques. more

EPA Proposes Adding Nine PFAS As Hazardous Constituents Under RCRA - JD Supra On February 8, 2024, EPA published a proposed rule that would list the following nine PFAS as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, HFPO-DA (also known as GenX), PFNA, PFHxS, PFDA, PFHxA, and PFBA. more

FDA Ends Sales of PFAS in Food Packaging U.S. companies have completed a voluntary phaseout to cease the use of PFAS in food packaging, the FDA announced Wednesday. more

EPA Launches New Office to Strengthen Engagement With Agricultural and Rural Communities The creation of the first-ever EPA Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs represents the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to improving environmental stewardship and economic opportunity for America’s farmers and ranchers, as well as strengthening the vitality of small towns and rural communities. more

Boiling tap water may be solution to microplastics: study - WFLA Boiling tap water can destroy at least 80 percent of three of the most common plastic compounds that can be found in your water, according to findings published Wednesday in Environmental Research Letters. more

IRS Exempts Lead Service Line Replacement from Federal Taxes On February 23, 2024, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service announced a determination that a government subsidized project to replace the private portion of a lead service line “does not result in income to the residential property owners” and “accordingly, water systems and state governments are not required to file information returns or furnish payee statements.” more

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to PFAS Contamination in Private Wells The Technical Fix for the State Response to Contaminants Program bill would ensure that states have the flexibility to use funding from the $5 billion Small or Disadvantaged Communities Emerging Contaminants Grant Program provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help assist private well owners in removing PFAS from their drinking water. more

CISA, FBI, and MS-ISAC Issue Joint Cybersecurity Advisory #StopRansomware - Phobos Ransomware These ransomware actors targeted municipal governments, county governments, emergency services, education, public healthcare, and critical infrastructure to successfully ransom several million U.S. dollars. more

Cloud Clustering Causes More Extreme Rain Understanding cloud patterns in our changing climate is essential to making accurate predictions about their impact on society and nature. more

Study Finds Drought Fuels Invasive Species After Wildfires In a study recently published in the journal Ecology, University of California, Irvine scientists uncover the intricate dance between drought, wildfires and invasive species in Southern California’s coastal sage scrub ecosystems. more

FDA, Industry Actions End Sales Of PFAS Used In U.S. Food Packaging The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing that grease-proofing materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are no longer being sold for use in food packaging in the U.S. more

STATE NEWS

Balanced Budget Prioritizes Infrastructure, Education & Tax Relief, Record Reserves - Florida Senate Pays down state debt, prioritizes public schools and parental choice in education, Historic funding to grow Florida’s health care workforce, invest in environment & clean water. more

Winter Garden moves forward with wastewater facility expansion | West Orange Times & Observer The commission approved several items pertaining to the expansion of the Crest Avenue Wastewater Treatment Facility. more

Cape Coral secures $9M for Emergency Operations Center | Florida Politics Cape Coral took a beating from Hurricane Ian. But it just secured millions from the state to be better prepared for the next storm. more

Last-minute earmark adds $10M more for Indiantown water treatment plant | Florida

Politics The small, rural village of Indiantown will receive $22.5 million in the coming budget to upgrade its failing water treatment and distribution center, thanks to a last-minute earmark from Florida lawmakers. more

Senate pumps $15M into Naples stormwater project | Florida Politics The money fulfills a major spending request from Kathleen Passidomo. The Senate will pipe $15 million toward a Naples stormwater project. more

$15M flows to FGCU for Lake O, regional water quality study | Florida Politics The Fort Myers-based university has studied ways to improve water quality in South Florida. more

Crystal River the big winner among Citrus County projects | Florida Politics Citrus County’s projects were a mixed bag of success in the final state budget, with some getting no funding and two projects receiving their full ask. more

Legislation for Toxic Secret chemical 1,4-dioxane dies in Florida House - Orlando Sentinel  Local lawmakers hoped to regulate the allowable amount of the chemical, which has been found in drinking water in Seminole County. more

New water project at Nocatee Fields - Florida NewsLine Residents in Nocatee will notice a new addition to their county park facilities in the coming weeks. That’s because workers from the St. Johns County Parks and Recreation Department will install a brand new water fountain and bottle refill station in the restroom area of the Nocatee Fields.  more

$2M in public money could go to Lake Apopka project tied to controversial former water district chair | Orlando Sentinel  A pair of Central Florida Republican lawmakers are requesting $2 million in public money that would go to an entity connected to several prominent GOP figures and co-operated by John Miklos, a controversial former chair of the St. Johns Water Management District. more

About half of Florida residents are not aware of local water restrictions | Okeechobee News  Half of Florida residents don’t know about their local water restrictions, but those who are aware can be persuaded to abide by them, new University of Florida research shows. more

Lake Okeechobee slowly receding | Okeechobee News  Concerned about already an already high lake level approaching the Florida “wet” season, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started releasing more water east to the St. Lucie and west to the Caloosahatchee River on Feb. 17. more

Central Florida leaders and advocates want local control of fertilizer usage | WMFE Fertilizer runoff from lawns during rain season can cause things like algae blooms and harmful pollution that impacts local waterways. more

Florida's gambling compact money could soon be used to support projects for the environment | WFSU Each year millions of dollars from the state’s gambling deal with the Seminole Indian Tribe will go to projects that help protect and preserve wildlife, waterways and green spaces. That’s under a bill now on its way to the governor’s desk. more

Lawmakers Set to Approve $117.5B State Budget on Time - South Santa Rosa News  The clock is ticking toward Friday’s close of the 2024 Legislative Session, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Doug Broxson and House Budget Chairman Tom Leek finalized negotiations in time for a required 72-hour “cooling off” period ahead of the official vote, presenting a balanced budget for next fiscal year which includes a $10 billion surplus, $500 million to pay off state debt, tax relief, renewal of a $300 million toll relief program, and a 3% salary raise for state employees. more

March 1, 1993 Outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, WI. From this date until April 28 is generally regarded as the duration of the outbreak of the disease. People in the area receiving the water began getting sick during this period and soon emergency rooms and doctors' offices were overtaxed. It has been estimated that over 400,000 people were sickened and over 100 people died.

“To assess the total medical costs and productivity losses associated with the 1993 waterborne outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including the average cost per person with mild, moderate, and severe illness, we conducted a retrospective cost-of-illness analysis using data from 11 hospitals in the greater Milwaukee area and epidemiologic data collected during the outbreak. The total cost of outbreak-associated illness was $96.2 million: $31.7 million in medical costs and $64.6 million in productivity losses. The average total costs for persons with mild, moderate, and severe illness were $116, $475, and $7,808, respectively. The potentially high cost of waterborne disease outbreaks should be considered in economic decisions regarding the safety of public drinking water supplies.”

Reference: Corso, P.S. et al. 2003. “Cost of Illness in the 1993 Waterborne Cryptosporidium Outbreak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” Emerging Infectious Diseases. 9:4.

Commentary: Based on the evidence I have seen, the Howard Avenue Water Purification Plant lost control of its particle removal process, which caused high concentrations of viable Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts to enter the distribution system. The only disinfectant that the water utility was using at that time was free chlorine, which is ineffective for killing this pathogen. Since the outbreak, the water treatment system in Milwaukee has been significantly upgraded.

FLORIDA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION | http://www.frwa.net

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