DUNCAN, Okla. -- The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) applauds the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) committee that introduced PFAS legislation on June 22, 2023. This important legislative package led by U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) seeks to improve the mitigation and remediation of PFAS contamination.
Highlights of this bill:
• This legislation seeks to improve technology and the infrastructure needed to properly address PFAS by creating a prize competition to encourage innovation in the development of technologies that help identify PFAS in low concentrations in the environment; prevent the intrusion of PFAS in the environment; and destroy PFAS. Additionally, $500 million is authorized to award cash prizes.
• An additional $500 million is authorized for the period of fiscal years 2024 – 2028 for direct research activities and grants. These grants would develop programs on non-regulatory strategies for the prevention, detection, destruction, and verification of emerging contaminants, with a focus on PFAS.
• To assist states in monitoring PFAS users, this bill allows states to use up to one percent of their State Revolving Fund (SRF) administrative fees to maintain a list of industrial users of PFAS within the state's boundaries.