Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program; and introduced by: David L. Bulova (Chief Patron) passed the general assembly during last winter's session. It was signed into law by the Governor.
This law creates the Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction
Program to reduce excessive levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS) in public drinking water that comes from the Occoquan
Reservoir. The bill requires certain facilities to monitor for PFAS and to
report all results to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). For any
facility that measures exceedances in its discharge of the maximum contaminant
level (MCL) for PFAS in drinking water, the DEQ shall amend their Virginia
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits to require that the facility’s discharge water does not exceed that MCL. The law
requires the modified permit to provide a compliance schedule to meet the EPA’s
drinking water MCL compliance schedule.
In April 2024, the EPA announced the final national primary
drinking water standards for six poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Public water systems have five years (by 2029) to implement solutions that
reduce these PFAS if monitoring shows that drinking water levels exceed the
maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). For PFOA and PFOS the U.S. EPA is
setting enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) at 4.0 parts per trillion
for PFOA and PFOS, individually. PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA
(GenX Chemicals), EPA is setting MCLGs of 10 parts per trillion.
Based on the most recent quarterly sampling the Occoquan
(Griffith Water Treatment Plant) does not currently comply with the EPA 2029 planned
MCL for PFOA. Compliance for PFOS is only marginally below the regulatory
limit. Additional treatment processes will be required to comply with
regulations and Fairfax Water has stated that they will ensure their water
meets these standards by the regulatory date.
Fairfax Water hopes to use this law to identify and remove
enough of the sources of PFAS in the water that arrives at the Occoquan
Reservoir to meet the EPA MCL without requiring Fairfax Water and their rate
payers to foot the bill for compliance which at this point is estimated to be
about $400,000,000 in capital investment and $24,000,000 per year in operating
costs. This law will force all the current permitted dischargers to see if they
are contributing to the PFAS problem. If PFAS is identified in their waste
streams and stormwater discharges then they can be required to remove it at
their expense.
The water in the Occoquan Reservoir comes from the Occoquan
Watershed. Our water supplies are connected to each other and the land. Two
thirds of the Occoquan Watershed that supplies the Occoquan Reservoir is in
Prince William County. The former Rural Crescent allowed rainwater to flow
gently over vegetation, feed the aquifers that provide water to the private
wells and the Evergreen water system, but also feeds the tributaries to Bull
Run and the Occoquan River assuring the base flow to the rivers and streams
that feed the Reservoir.
The Upper Occoquan Service Authority, UOSA, the wastewater
treatment plant also delivers up to 40 million/day of recycled water that
originated in the Potomac River to the Occoquan Reservoir. Supplementing the
supply. Keeping PFAS out of the source water is a real challenge when PFAS
is in our diet and wastewater is reused in our drinking water supplies. To stay
within the regulatory limit, Fairfax Water will have to identify the PFAS
content in the various sources of water and can either mix them to minimize
exposure or remove them.
On the occasion of the Governor signing the bill into law, Fairfax Water press release said; “This new law takes an essential and proactive approach to safeguarding our region’s drinking water by requiring polluters to monitor and remove harmful PFAS chemicals from one of Northern Virginia’s most critical drinking water sources. It represents meaningful progress toward maintaining the safety and quality of our drinking water supply.” What it does is help identify the sources of PFAS in our water supply and if possible make those responsible bear the cost and responsibility of removing the PFAS from the water.
Sampling data for the Potomac River water supply indicate
that the Corbalis Water Treatment Plant will comply with the PFAS regulations
without additional treatment. So, Fairfax Water has been focusing on ways for the Occoquan Reservoir to meet the MCL and is also moving ahead with designing
a water treatment train to remove PFAS from the water drawn from the Occoquan
Reservoir.
In January of this year, Fairfax Water filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County against several manufacturers of aqueous film-forming foam chemicals. The lawsuit seeks to hold companies responsible for PFAS contamination in the Occoquan Reservoir and recover costs associated with water treatment and environmental remediation. (There have been several spills of aqueous film-forming foam chemicals at Manassas airport alone.)