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Residents press concerns about PFAS testing; solicitor says no evidence of fraud
Summary
Residents questioned Perkasie Regional Authority (PRA) testing and raised health concerns about PFAS/PFOS; Township Solicitor Will Oetinger said PRA complies with DEP monitoring and that allegations of criminal fraud were unsupported by evidence in the meeting.
Residents at the Nov. 26 East Rockhill Township meeting pressed officials about PFAS/PFOS drinking-water testing and the accuracy of results provided by the Perkasie Regional Authority (PRA).
Township Solicitor Will Oetinger summarized federal and state action on PFAS and PFOS contaminants, noting an EPA advisory in 2016, Pennsylvania DEP’s 2023 enforceable limit of 14 parts per trillion that took effect Jan. 1, 2024, and subsequent EPA guidance on lower targets and monitoring timelines. Oetinger said PRA already performs the required quarterly entry-point testing and that DEP receives certified laboratory results directly from certified laboratories. He added that PRA is a governmental authority not under the township’s direct control and that the township had supported PRA’s installation of a filtration system by waiving land-development requirements for the Three Mile Run Road site.
Several residents voiced disagreement with PRA’s results. The transcript records Jennifer Wright of 400 Three Mile Run Road as stating, "PRA information is false and they are not giving correct numbers." Solicitor Oetinger responded, "There is no proof the information is fraudulent," and noted the township does not have authority to supersede DEP regulations. Jackie Martish (91 Ridge Run Road) stated that her husband died from cancer; other residents raised concerns about differing well-test numbers and where certified labs report results.
Oetinger told the board that DEP is providing bottled water to a property in an HSCA site with well results of 4 ppt and explained that HSCA-site handling follows different guidelines than public water systems. He also said EPA has mandated reporting and lower target levels to be in place by 2029 and that water providers will begin monitoring and reporting in 2027 under EPA guidance. The solicitor encouraged residents to engage with DEP and PRA on technical questions about monitoring and treatment while noting the township’s limited regulatory authority over PRA.
The meeting record does not show further action by the board to open a separate investigation; the board encouraged residents to support PRA’s pending Pennvest grant application for a filtration system that PRA intends to construct regardless of grant funding, per remarks in the meeting.
