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Senate committee approves DEQ air and hazardous-waste rule dockets, holds PFAS drinking-water rule for further review
Summary
The committee approved two Department of Environmental Quality incorporation-by-reference rule dockets (air quality and hazardous waste) and held the drinking-water PFAS rule (docket 5801082401) at the chair's call for additional information and a scheduled presentation the next day.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved two Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) rule dockets and deferred action on a third that addresses PFAS in drinking water.
Tiffany Floyd, Air Quality Division Administrator at DEQ, presented docket 58-0101-2401, the annual incorporation by reference of federal air regulations into Idaho's rules. Floyd highlighted federal actions incorporated through July 1, 2024, and told the committee that EPA revised the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), lowering the annual standard from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9 effective May 6, 2024. She said Idaho anticipates meeting the new standard statewide once exceptional wildfire events are removed from monitoring data, and she identified Pinehurst, St. Maries and Salmon as communities “hovering near that standard.” Floyd also noted EPA-approved removal of the vehicle inspection and maintenance program for Northern Ada County’s carbon monoxide plan and that the emergency defense provision in Title V permitting was removed by EPA litigation.
The committee approved the air-quality incorporation-by-reference docket on a voice vote after Senator Van Orden moved to approve and Senator Harris seconded.
Michael McCurdy, Waste Management and Remediation Division Administrator for DEQ, presented docket 58-0105-2401, the hazardous-waste incorporation-by-reference docket. McCurdy said the docket adopts federal hazardous-waste updates through July 1, 2024, including technical corrections and incorporation of EPA method 23 changes; he said the Board of Environmental Quality adopted the rule on Nov. 14, 2024. The committee approved the hazardous waste docket on a voice vote.
Jeri Henry, DEQ Division Administrator for Drinking Water Protection and Finance, and Tyler Fortunati, Drinking Water Bureau Chief, presented docket 58-0108-2401, which updates Idaho’s public drinking water rules to incorporate federal PFAS requirements under 40 CFR Part 141 (including subpart Z). Fortunati said the updates establish enforceable maximum contaminant levels and monitoring, analytical, reporting and recordkeeping requirements for PFAS and require sampling for new wells and public water systems. He told the committee that most systems would be newly required to conduct regulatory PFAS testing and that average sample cost is “right around $325,” depending on the method used.
The committee agreed to hold the drinking-water docket until the chair calls it up again following a scheduled presentation the next day. Senator Harris moved to hold the docket until the call of the chair; Senator Wintrow seconded the motion, which the committee approved on a voice vote.
Motions and outcomes: Docket 58-0101-2401 (air incorporation by reference) was approved; docket 58-0105-2401 (hazardous waste incorporation by reference) was approved; docket 58-0108-2401 (PFAS drinking water incorporation by reference) was held pending further presentation and consideration.
