December 13, 2019 
NH DES Biosolids Program Leads Efforts to Reduce PFAS in Wastewater & Biosolids

PFAS – fluorinated compounds that have gained increasing attention from state regulators throughout New England – are found in every wastewater and biosolids sampled in numerous locations around the country. These ubiquitous trace levels of PFAS are received at water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) from our modern living environments, where they are found in myriad products. NEBRA has been focused on understanding PFAS in biosolids and wastewater for three years, and the most challenging issue is how to address these trace chemicals of concern when they are nearly everywhere. There is no practical way to remove them from wastewater or biosolids. The best approach is to look upstream and reduce inputs to WRRFs. At most WRRFs, there is no big industry to go after but the PFAS continue to come down the pipe every home and commercial building.

Some staff at New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) recognized this reality early on in 2018. As regulatory reactions to PFAS moved forward, including setting of the strictest set of MCLs (maximum contaminant levels) in the nation, Ray Gordon, Administrator of Residuals Management for NHDES, began to focus on upstream, to proactively reduce PFAS levels wherever and as much as possible. Gordon and fellow biosolids regulator Anthony Drouin planned five monthly meetings with biosolids management stakeholders to develop action plans, best practices, and communications materials that will help WRRF staff work with upstream stakeholders to reduce PFAS inputs. This will include urging any industries that use significant amounts of PFAS to pretreat or change chemical formulas. It may include encouraging car washes, dry cleaners, and other small businesses to check the contents of the chemicals they use and try alternatives.

The first meeting of this “Biosolids Improvement” work was held in November, with a second meeting planned for Monday, December 16th. All meetings are at the NHDES offices in Concord. NHDES has invited all biosolids Sludge Quality Certification (SQC) permit holders – WRRF staff – and biosolids management companies to participate. Representatives from two Massachusetts agencies, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and EPA Region 1 attended the first meeting, adding their experience and expertise. The program has the potential to significantly increase the most efficient, practical way to reduce PFAS contamination and control the levels that WRRFs need to manage: reducing PFAS inputs at the very beginning. PFAS is a society-wide issue that will take society-wide, individual actions to fully address, especially to address the background levels found in most wastewaters and biosolids. NHDES’ proactive guidance will help WRRF managers do their part.