Oliver E. Twaddell, partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Enviromental Law group, explored the potential impact of the EPA’s PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Rulemaking in an article in CLM Magazine.

The EPA’s proposed rules provide new regulations that would establish legally enforceable drinking-water levels for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known to occur in drinking water and require maximum containment levels. Public water systems would then have to monitor PFAS, inform water consumers, install and maintain treatment technologies, perform recordkeeping and recording, and more in accordance with the regulations.

Communities would incur financial costs for the changes to public water systems that, while varying by state, would require stricter guidelines to drinking water than any existing regulations. There are additional concerns around the cost estimates in the proposed ruling, as it does not include costs of compliance with non-drinking water regulations that might follow the new drinking water limits.

Federal funding might be available for public water-system updates, but there will be a substantial cost to local and state governments.

“Although the proposed rule will be limited to public water systems, it will likely have economic repercussions across many industries that touch PFAS beyond just contamination areas, and not to mention potential federalism and state-level funding concerns,” Oliver said.

The proposed rules will be open for public comment until May 30.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE:

“EPA Closing in on Drinking Water Regulations,” CLM Magazine, May 9, 2023

MORE ABOUT GOLDBERG SEGALLA’S OLIVER E. TWADDELL:

Oliver E. Twaddell handles a wide range of commercial and general litigation in federal and state court, including cases involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, non-competition, unfair trade practices, and other business torts, as well as property damage, land use and environmental contamination, toxic tort, and other general tort actions. Currently, Oliver is serving as primary and national counsel for a defendant in the Aqueous Film Forming Foam Multi-District Litigation being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. He also has experience handling copyright and trademark infringement litigation. Oliver’s background includes counseling foreign banks, corporations, individuals, partnerships, and other entities in complex domestic and international litigation. Oliver is a frequent contributor to the firm’s Environmental Law Monitor blog, where he writes extensively on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), as well as developments in environmental regulation, legislation, and litigation. He is also a member of the firm’s Water Contamination group—a subgroup of the Environmental practice group. His background includes handling matters involving oil spills and lead paint exposure.