Leading the headlines this month, is the announcement that 3M Co, one of the major producers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), will stop manufacturing them by 2025.  Following years of calls for source reduction, and facing major liabilities, 3M saw no future in continuing with that “portfolio”.  Numerous organizations have called for phase outs and outright bans on PFAS. 3M and other manufacturers of PFAS are facing significant liabilities for past PFAS contamination. States are suing to recover PFAS-related damages; the latest example being Michigan suing a paper company for contaminating its compost with PFAS.    

Most recently, on December 23rd, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Biosolids Biennial Report No. 9 (Reporting Period 2020-2021) | US EPA. These biennial reviews and sewage sludge surveys are required under Section 405(d) of the Clean Water Act and are the first step in the risk assessment process for pollutants in biosolids. The EPA conducts a rigorous literature search of peer-reviewed scientific publications related to pollutants in biosolids, in this case for the biennium starting January 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2021. In this report, EPA has identified 13 new chemicals in biosolids including three PFAS, nine drugs (such as Fentanyl and Methadone) and one element (Bromide).  The EPA review also identified:

  • Concentration data for 33 chemicals previously found in biosolids;

  • Human health toxicity values for four of the new chemicals and 134 previously identified chemicals;

  • Ecological toxicity data for five newly identified chemicals and 273 previously identified chemicals;

  • Uptake and transfer data for 13 new chemicals and 279 previously identified chemicals

The EPA recently posted updates to its Clean Water Act analytical methods for PFAS. This is the third draft of Method 1633 for 40 PFAS compounds. EPA is updating the draft due to high public interest and this update includes multi-laboratory validated data for the wastewater matrix. In early 2023, the EPA plans to publish the fourth draft of Method 1633 with certain updates derived from the multi-lab validation study. Later in the year, EPA expects to publish the final draft version of Method 1633 for all eight environmental matrices (wastewater, surface water, groundwater, soil, biosolids, sediment, landfill leachate, and fish tissue). There will be a public process followed by publication in the Federal Register before the method will be final and required for monitoring purposes.  However, EPA is recommending that regional and state permit writers include Method 1633 in new or renewed permits.

Earlier in the month, EPA issued guidance to the regions and states on permit provisions for PFAS under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and is moving ahead with requiring testing at wastewater treatment facilities using Method 1633.  The guidance specifically addresses biosolids, with a nod to Michigan’s approach for reducing PFAS concentrations in biosolids using pretreatment and source reduction.

In November, EPA published an “Anniversary Report” on its PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap: A Year of Progress. It’s a quick read, with high level summaries on EPA’s key accomplishments tackling PFAS in all its environmental programs over the last year.  The report also highlights upcoming milestones, including addressing PFAS in biosolids.

Finally, way back in October, EPA published its final list of contaminants for potential regulatory consideration under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Read more in the Fact Sheet for the 5th Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List. This action applies to drinking water regulation over the next five year cycle but will eventually end up impacting wastewater.  Of interest was EPA's listing of PFAS as a group of contaminants and expanding its definition to include other PFAS structures such as highly-branched ethers.