All Knowledge & Insights By Date

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on April 15, 2024, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: Navy Efforts to Address PFAS at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.” GAO states that it was asked to examine the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The report describes DOD’s response to a November 2022 aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) release at the installation; DOD...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 30, 2024, the publication of a draft testing method (EPA Method 1634) that will enable government agencies, Tribes, and other groups to determine where and when 6PPD-quinone is present in local stormwater and surface waters. As reported in our November 3, 2023, blog item, on November 2, 2023, EPA announced that it granted a petition filed under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 17, 2023, the release of the first set of data collected under the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). According to EPA, in the latest action to deliver on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, UCMR 5 will provide new data that will improve its understanding of the frequency that 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium are found in U.S. drinking water systems, and at what levels. EPA...

On November 10, 2022, California filed suit in California Superior Court against the manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “for endangering public health, causing irreparable harm to the state’s natural resources, and engaging in a widespread campaign to deceive the public.” According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s November 10, 2022, press release, California “alleges that these manufacturers, including 3M and DuPont, knew or should have known that...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on October 19, 2022, entitled “Persistent Chemicals: EPA Should Use New Data to Analyze the Demographics of Communities with PFAS in Their Drinking Water.” The Congressional requesters asked GAO to examine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water and related state actions. GAO’s report examines what recent data from selected states show about the occurrence of PFAS in drinking water; the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 7, 2022, that registration is now open for the March 15-17. 2022, meeting of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) to peer review EPA’s “Draft TSCA Screening Level Approach for Assessing Ambient Air and Water Exposures to Fenceline Communities Version 1.0” (screening level methodology). As reported in our January 24, 2022, memorandum, EPA will use the screening level methodology to evaluate potential...

On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will hold a virtual peer review meeting of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) to consider and review the “Draft TSCA Screening Level Approach for Assessing Ambient Air and Water Exposures to Fenceline Communities Version 1.0.” 87 Fed. Reg. 3294. The meeting will be held March 15-17, 2022, and will be open to the public. Along with presenting the methodology, EPA will also...

By  Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. DOE EERE announced on March 22, 2021, awards totaling $27.5 million for 16 water infrastructure and treatment projects. Spanning 13 states, each project will focus on bringing new water and wastewater-treatment technologies from the applied R&D stage into the market. According to DOE, increasing numbers of utilities responsible for clean water have shifted from strict wastewater treatment models to a broader model of...

On March 1, 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled Man-Made Chemicals and Potential Health Risks:  EPA Has Completed Some Regulatory-Related Actions for PFAS.  GAO was asked to examine the status of regulatory-related actions in EPA’s 2019 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan.  GAO found that EPA completed three of six selected regulatory-related actions for addressing PFAS outlined in the PFAS...

On July 31, 2020, the plaintiffs and EPA filed a joint case management statement in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case seeking a rulemaking under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit the addition of fluoridation chemicals to drinking water supplies.  Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. EPA, Case No. 3:17-cv-02162-EMC.  As reported in our June 12 and June 22, 2020, blog items, the court held a bench trial that...