The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission announced on Mar. 10 that it will hold three public hearings in April to gather public input on proposed rules for monitoring and minimizing three types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater discharged into the state’s surface waters.
The hearings are part of a comment period beginning March 16, during which residents can provide feedback on the proposed regulations. The issue is significant because PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in humans and animals. An estimated 3.5 million North Carolinians currently drink tap water with PFAS levels above upcoming U.S. Environmental Protection Agency health-based standards.
Hearings will take place at Ferguson Auditorium in Asheville on April 7, the Archdale Building in Raleigh on April 20, and Wilmington City Hall at Skyline Center on April 23, all starting at 6 p.m., with registration opening an hour earlier. Written comments will also be accepted by email or mail through June 15.
The commission is seeking input on two proposed rules—15A NCAC 02b .0512 and 15A NCAC 02H .0923—which would require monitoring for PFOS, PFOA, and GenX compounds from industrial National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System dischargers, publicly owned treatment facilities accepting industrial waste, and significant industrial users known as indirect dischargers. Certain direct dischargers and significant industrial users would also need to develop plans to minimize these chemical discharges into surface waters.
Public comments are invited not only on the rule adoptions themselves but also on whether it is scientifically defensible to set a screening threshold for ongoing monitoring requirements; whether applicability should be limited to industries linked to PFAS use; and whether all entities should submit analytical results for all PFAS chemicals analyzed according to EPA Test Method 1633A.
Copies of prepared remarks will be accepted at each hearing, where speaking time may be limited based on attendance. The full text of the proposed rules is available online.