Congressman Brendan Boyle, D-13, of Philadelphia, announced Thursday he has reintroduced a bill that would set a national drinking water standard for perfluorinated compounds for the first time.
The chemicals have been found in the drinking water of as many as 15 million Americans, including at nationally high amounts in the drinking water of some Bucks and Montgomery County communities.
Presently, the Safe Drinking Water Act requires the EPA to conduct nationwide testing for “no more than 30” unregulated contaminants every five years under a program called the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule.
The EPA is then required to assess the risks posed by the chemicals and accept or reject drinking water standards at a required rate of at least five chemicals every five years.
PFOA and PFOS were two of the chemicals on the EPA’s third UCMR testing program, resulting in their discovery in local drinking water systems between 2013 and 2015.
“Every day we continue to learn more about the scope and seriousness of perfluorinated compounds across the country.
Boyle’s bill, H.R.
It is co-sponsored by local congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick, R-8, of Middletown, and Patrick Meehan, R-7, of Upper Darby, as well as Reps. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Paul Tonko, D-N.Y.
While Boyle’s bill this year already has some bipartisan support, Pallone’s H.R.
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