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Legislation Could Stop Pollutants In Waterways

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, has introduced legislation to stop manufacturers and other polluters from contaminating New York waterways with toxic levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

There is no limit to how much PFAS polluters can release into the environment, putting the health and safety of communities across New York at risk. Release of PFAS chemicals also places the burden of costly clean-up efforts after contamination has occurred on the communities themselves, rather than on the companies responsible for the contamination, Gillibrand said. Gillibrand’s bill, the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act, would help stop toxic levels of PFAS contamination from entering water sources in the first place by regulating PFAS under the Clean Water Act.

“New Yorkers should be able to trust their water is safe, but far too many communities across the state have had their water supplies polluted by toxic PFAS chemicals. We shouldn’t be waiting for PFAS to contaminate our water sources, and need to do more to protect New Yorkers,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “That’s why I am proud to announce the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act, which would prevent polluters from contaminating our waterways with toxic levels of PFAS in the first place. My legislation would require the Environmental Protection Agency to review all sources of PFAS chemicals and use that information to limit PFAS chemicals from entering into the environment. This is critical to protecting our communities, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”

Specifically, the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act would do the following:

¯ Require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the sources of PFAS in waterbodies and use that information to set protective limits on the amount of PFAS chemicals that can be released.

¯ Ensure that any entity that is discharging these limited levels of PFAS receive a Clean Water Act permit before discharging these chemicals into the environment.

¯ Require the EPA to establish standards for the treatment of wastewater, which often includes PFAS chemicals, before it is released into the environment or used for other purposes.

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