Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Assembly requires expanded PFAS testing at treatment plants and targeted industrial dischargers
Summary
Lawmakers advanced a bill standardizing PFAS monitoring under SPDES permits and requiring industrial dischargers that feed POTWs to test when likely sources are identified; the measure uses the EPA 16/33 (40‑PFAS) standard to give regulators and communities better data on contamination sources.
The Assembly approved legislation to expand and standardize testing for per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater discharges and to improve public reporting.
Sponsor Anna Kelles described the bill as a monitoring-and-reporting measure that would require targeted PFAS testing of industrial SPDES permit holders and quarterly monitoring by publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) using the EPA 16/33 method (the current national laboratory standard that measures 40 PFAS compounds). Kelles said the change would create consistent, longitudinal data to identify sources and measure the effect of upstream interventions.
Members asked about the bill’s scope, testing cadence and cost. Kelles said the law targets industrial SPDES permits that DEC determines are at risk and would not subject every minor user to heavy testing; facilities with low or no detections in initial monitoring would not be required to continue quarterly sampling unless thresholds were exceeded. Members pressed on the size of POTWs covered and the cost-per-test; the sponsor said testing is already in use in parts of the state and the bill formalizes and extends those practices to improve triangulation of sources.
Backers said the measure closes monitoring gaps — notably where POTWs can detect cumulative PFAS but regulators lack upstream source data — and helps policymakers evaluate interventions. The Assembly approved the bill 102–37.
