News Releases from Headquarters›Water (OW)

EPA Releases Agenda for New England PFAS Community Engagement Event

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2018) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an early agenda for the inaugural per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) two-day community engagement event at Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Dr., Exeter, New Hampshire. This event allows EPA to hear directly from New England communities, state, local, and tribal partners on how to best help states and communities facing this issue.

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

Both days will be open to the public and the press. If you are interested in attending the event on June 25 and/or June 26, please register here: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/forms/pfas-community-engagement-exeter-nh. The public is invited to speak during the June 25 listening session. Those interested in speaking should sign up for a three-minute speaking slot 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 Exit  https://www.regulations.gov/ enter docket number: OW-2018-0270.

New Hampshire marks the first community engagement. Throughout the summer, EPA will visit and similarly engage with additional communities across the country. Information on these upcoming sessions will also be available on the EPA website. 

At the PFAS National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. on May 22-23, Administrator Pruitt announced four actions EPA will take:

• 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.
• 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.
• EPA is currently developing groundwater cleanup recommendations for PFOA and PFOS at contaminated sites and will complete this task by fall of this year.
• EPA is taking action in close collaboration with our federal and state partners to develop toxicity values for GenX and PFBS by this summer. 

The public’s input is incredibly valuable and meaningful to EPA. Using information from the National Leadership Summit, public docket, and community engagements, EPA plans to develop a PFAS Management Plan for release later this year. In addition, a summary of the New England community engagement event will be made available on the PFAS Community Engagement website following the event.

Additional information can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-community-engagement