U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Pressing for Answers on Reports of Efforts to Weaken Contamination Standards for PFAS
Letter Comes in Response to Media Reports that DOD is Pushing for Weaker Cleanup Guidelines for PFAS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined her colleagues in pressing Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler, requesting the agencies to release communications they’ve had with the White House, and with each other, regarding the establishment of federal drinking water standards for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and groundwater pollution guidelines related to these chemicals.
The letter, led by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), comes in response torecent media reports that the Department Of Defense (DOD) is requesting the White House to adopt substantially weaker guidelines for groundwater pollution caused by PFAS than those suggested by the EPA.
Senator Baldwin has been taking action to establish enforceable drinking water standards and ensure Wisconsin has clean drinking water.
The Senators wrote,“If this reporting is accurate, the DOD’s actions may endanger the health of servicemembers and families who live and work near the 401 military installations where there are known or suspected releases of PFAS chemicals in the drinking water or groundwater. We urge you to act in the best interests of impacted communities and support efforts to develop groundwater and drinking water standards that will protect the public from the health hazards associated with PFAS contamination.”
The Senators go on to highlight the EPA’s recently released PFAS management plan, which commits the agency to developing interim groundwater cleanup recommendations that will assist state and federal agencies in protecting drinking water supplies contaminated by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), two PFAS chemicals contained in formulations of AFFF. This commitment is contradicted by media reports that suggest the DOD opposes groundwater cleanup guidelines recommended by the EPA, and instead suggest that remedial action for PFOA and PFOS not occur unless the concentration levels of these chemicals exceed 400 parts per trillion or higher – nearly six times higher than the EPA’s lifetime health advisory for these chemicals.
The Senators underscore the significant risk to impacted communities posed by these extreme contamination levels and the limited number of sites eligible for cleanup and remediation. They close their letter by requesting that the DOD and EPA provide communication between the agencies and White House on efforts to set enforceable drinking water standards and groundwater cleanup recommendations for PFAS chemicals, and that they provide a joint briefing to their offices on interagency efforts on this issue.
Their letter is available here. It was also signed by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Bob Casey (D-PA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Gary Peters (D-MI).
An online version of this release is available here.
More about the PFAS Problem
- How State Reopening is Affecting PFAS Testing - Isiah Holmes - May 23rd, 2020
- Manufacturer Finds No PFAS In Most Wells - Danielle Kaeding - May 20th, 2020
- PFAS, Other Pollutants Found In Rivers - Isiah Holmes - May 11th, 2020
- PFAS Found In Sediment and Surface Water At Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - May 7th, 2020
- Johnson Controls Wants Pause in PFAS Testing - Isiah Holmes - Apr 26th, 2020
- DNR Directs JCI/Tyco To Provide Emergency Drinking Water for Three Homeowners On Private Wells Near JCI/Tyco Biosolid Applied Fields Investigation Area After Sampling Results Show High Levels of PFAS Contamination - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Apr 14th, 2020
- State DNR Forges Ahead on ‘Forever Chemicals’ - Danielle Kaeding - Apr 7th, 2020
- Johnson Controls Must Expand Inspection of PFAS Pollution - Danielle Kaeding - Feb 22nd, 2020
- Assembly attempts to provide political cover while constituents suffer the consequences - Wisconsin Conservation Voters - Feb 21st, 2020
- Campaign Cash: Big Money Groups Oppose PFAS Regulation - Wisconsin Democracy Campaign - Feb 15th, 2020
- Baldwin Calling on EPA to Deliver on Promises Made in PFAS Action Plan - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Feb 14th, 2020
- Wisconsin PFAS Action Council (WisPAC) Developing PFAS Action Plan For State - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Feb 4th, 2020
- Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Push $10M Clean Water Fund - Danielle Kaeding - Jan 31st, 2020
- DNR Working On New PFAS Rules - Erik Gunn - Jan 24th, 2020
- What Are PFAS Chemicals? - Christy Remucal - Jan 15th, 2020
- DNR Providing Emergency Drinking Water to Homeowner with PFAS Contamination Near JCI Investigation Area - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Jan 10th, 2020
- Senate Debates PFAS in Firefighting Foam - Danielle Kaeding - Jan 9th, 2020
- DNR Confirms PFAS-Containing Foam Found at the Mouth of Starkweather Creek and Lake Monona - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Dec 19th, 2019
- Why PFAS Pollution Is So Scary - Erik Gunn - Nov 18th, 2019
- Op Ed: Everyone Deserves Clean Water - State Sen. Jon Erpenbach - Nov 4th, 2019
- Few Local Water Systems Test for PFAS - Danielle Kaeding - Oct 30th, 2019
- MKE County: High PFAS Levels Found at Airport - Graham Kilmer - Oct 24th, 2019
- State Board Okays Rules on PFAS Pollution - Isiah Holmes - Oct 24th, 2019
- DNR Releases PFAS Contamination Data - Erik Gunn - Oct 8th, 2019
- U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Presses Trump Administration for Urgency on Addressing PFAS Contamination in Water - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Sep 25th, 2019
- U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Pressing for Answers on Reports of Efforts to Weaken Contamination Standards for PFAS - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Mar 25th, 2019
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