An official website of the United States government.

News Releases from HeadquartersWater (OW)

EPA Releases Agenda for Horsham PFAS Community Engagement Event

07/12/2018
Contact Information: 
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an early agenda for the next per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) community engagement event at Hatboro-Horsham High School, 899 Horsham Road, Horsham, Pennsylvania. This event allows EPA to hear directly from Pennsylvania communities, Mid-Atlantic states, and local partners on how to best help states and communities facing this issue.

9:30 Registration 10:00 Welcome 10:30 EPA PFAS Research & Federal Panel on PFAS Activity in PA 12:15 State Panel on PFAS Activity in Mid-Atlantic 1:00 Local Panel on PFAS Activity in PA 2:00 Community Presentation 2:30 Wrap Up 3:30 Listening Session

Additional details will be posted on the PFAS Community Engagement Website.

Both sessions are open to the public and the press. If you are interested in attending the event, please register here: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/forms/pfas-community-engagement-horsham-pa. Those interested in speaking should select the option to speak while registering. 

Please check back at the PFAS Community Engagement website for further information leading up to the event. Citizens are also encouraged to submit written statements to the public docket at https://www.regulations.gov/ enter docket number: OW-2018-0270.

Background

PFAS is a group of man-made chemicals that have been widely used in everyday products since the 1940s. But PFAS compounds also can enter the environment, raising concerns about the potential environmental and health risks. 

Addressing PFAS is a national priority. At the National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. in May, EPA announced a four-step action plan:

  1. EPA will initiate steps to evaluate the need for a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS. We will convene our federal partners and examine everything we know about PFOA and PFOS in drinking water.
  2. EPA is beginning the necessary steps to propose designating PFOA and PFOS as “hazardous substances” through one of the available statutory mechanisms, including potentially CERCLA Section 102.
  3. EPA is currently developing groundwater cleanup recommendations for PFOA and PFOS at contaminated sites and will complete this task by fall of this year.
  4. EPA is taking action in close collaboration with our federal and state partners to develop toxicity values for GenX and PFBS by this summer.

EPA conducted a similar engagement with communities impacted by PFAS in New Hampshire last month, and will be headed to Colorado and North Carolina in the coming weeks. These community engagement events are critical to understand ways the Agency can best support the work that’s being done at the state, local, and tribal levels. Using information from the National Leadership Summit, community engagements, and public input provided by the docket, EPA plans to develop a PFAS Management Plan for release later this year.

To learn more about PFAS, please visit: www.epa.gov/pfas