High-ranking EPA officials will visit Horsham on July 25 to hear concerns over PFAS water contamination.
An Environmental Protection Agency press release confirmed Wednesday that officials from the agency will host a meeting in Horsham next month regarding local drinking water contamination.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Allentown, who issued a letter to Pruitt last month asking the EPA to visit southeast Pennsylvania, was also quoted in the release.
Amico said the EPA officials took notes throughout and told the public they believe agency leadership is determined to act.
The “community engagement” sessions are part of a larger effort by EPA to publicly address concerns around the chemicals, which are also known as PFAS.
In addition to the community meetings, the plan includes evaluating whether to set a formal drinking water limit for the chemicals, “beginning the necessary steps” to propose adding chemicals PFOS and PFOA to a list of hazardous substances under the Superfund law, and studying the toxicity of other perfluorinated chemicals.
As the chemicals are currently unregulated, there is no straightforward mechanism to force polluters to cleanup to specific standards.
The EPA has not added a new chemical to its list of regulated substances in drinking water since 2000.
The EPA found only about 4 percent of water supplies contained one of six PFAS chemicals.
“If you’re not seeing something because you looked too high, you’re not really doing your due diligence.” The EPA has also been criticized for a 70 parts per trillion (ppt) recommended drinking water limit for PFOS and PFOS.