Charleston Leader

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, participated in a hearing to mark the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act. During this session, she raised concerns regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed PFAS designation and its impact on local water systems.

Capito directed her questions to Cathy Tucker-Vogel, Chief of the Public Water Supply Section at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. She expressed concern about how water systems often encounter PFAS contaminants without intentionally accepting them. "Water systems often receive and encounter PFAS contaminants without producing or intentionally accepting or distributing them," said Capito. She questioned what potential liabilities might arise for local utilities under EPA's proposed PFAS designation.

Tucker-Vogel noted that while community water systems are subject to discretionary enforcement under CERCLA, non-community systems like schools might not be included. "So we want, we would want to make sure that schools are also included in that discretionary enforcement," she stated.

Capito also addressed Radhika Fox, Former EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, questioning critiques from the Science Advisory Board on setting Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for PFAS. The board had identified flaws such as inconsistent study inclusion and lack of transparency. Capito asked how these processes could be improved to make MCL levels workable.

Fox acknowledged room for improvement in regulatory processes: "There are vast improvements we can make to the regulatory development process." She explained that recent studies indicating cancer risks led career staff experts to recommend an MCL level at four parts-per-trillion.

When asked about responses to Science Advisory Board critiques, Fox replied, "I believe that there was robust discussion between the staff who were managing the development of that regulation and the Science Advisory Board."