Hochul should sign PFAS bill
Citizens Campaign for the Environment executive director Adrienne Esposito, third from right, with members of a bipartisan group that called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would remove more forever chemicals from drinking water. Seen at a news conference in October are, from left, Assemb. Doug Smith; Suffolk County Water Authority Chairman Charles Lefkowitz; State Sen. Monica Martinez; Esposito; Assemb. Rebecca Kassay; and State Sen. Dean Murray. Credit: Citizens Campaign for the Environment
The United Nations recognizes clean drinking water as a fundamental human right, yet the federal government wants to delay by two years standards to make drinking water safer. The State Legislature passed a bill to better protect our drinking water with broad bipartisan support over the summer, but it awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul's signature.
The bill would strengthen drinking water standards by reducing the maximum contaminant level of forever chemicals known as PFOS and PFOA from the current 10 parts per trillion to 4 ppt. The bill would also regulate more recently discovered chemicals in drinking water by establishing a maximum contaminant level of 10 ppt for so-called emerging contaminants like PFNA.
Forever chemicals, which are known collectively as PFAS, are harmful to humans. They are found in a wide range of water-resistant products like sunscreen, nonstick cookware, fast food wrappers, firefighting foam and more. Across Long Island, forever chemicals have imperiled residents for years. As more of these synthetic chemicals are discovered in our drinking water, the cumulative effect is making us sick.
Recently, as more contaminated areas near airports, landfills and battery energy storage facilities have been identified, calls for better government standards have grown. The legislature's bill is one result of more people recognizing the need for stricter standards to better protect our drinking water.
Meanwhile, the federal government is making a dangerous and unprecedented retreat on clean drinking water.
The Environmental Protection Agency, which acknowledges on its website that forever chemicals in drinking water are dangerous, is pushing to delay stricter PFAS regulations. Under Administrator Lee Zeldin, a former congressman from Shirley, the EPA wants to delay cutting the maximum level of 10 ppt to 4 ppt by pushing back the compliance deadline from April 2029 to April 2031. That means two more years with a higher federal guideline for chemicals known to be hazardous to our health.
The argument against Hochul signing the bill is technical. State officials worry about setting the precedent of regulating through legislation rather than regulation. We urge state leaders to quickly choose to enact the bill or adopt stricter regulations. The process isn't nearly as important as the goal.
Filtration systems that remove forever chemicals aren't cheap, and the EPA and state have provided hundreds of millions of dollars to install and maintain granular-activated carbon filters for public and private drinking water suppliers. This bill would require water suppliers to comply with stricter limits, but many of the filtration systems already in use reduce forever chemical levels below 4 ppt.
Citizens Campaign for the Environment executive director Adrienne Esposito told the editorial board that the state bill is a positive, albeit incremental, step in making drinking water safer.
"This protects us," Esposito said. "This is one of the greatest, most important functions of government ... making sure that people aren't getting sick."
New York must take the lead and make our drinking water safer. Hochul should sign the bill.
MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD are experienced journalists who offer reasoned opinions, based on facts, to encourage informed debate about the issues facing our community.
