(WWLP- Duncan MacLean) – The Federal Environmental Protection Agency has announced new, stringent limits for levels of PFAS contamination in drinking water, setting the maximum limit to barely detectable levels alongside funding to help detect and eliminate these forever chemicals.
State Senator John Velis told 22News, “I think it is really positive news that the federal government has finally waded into this debate. Municipal governments are not equipped to handle this financial burden themselves.”
Velis and his home community of Westfield have been agonizing over PFAS contamination for nearly a decade. The city was among the first in the state to detect the issue and began remediation and filtration operations from temporary filters back in 2016 to a $13-million overhaul of their drinking water filtration system.
“It has been a really difficult, long cumbersome process for the folks of Westfield in city government and beyond,” said Velis.
Massachusetts was among the first six states in the country to establish PFAS limits in 2020 but the new federal guidelines are even lower. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, more than 70 communities are already working to fix PFAS levels above state standards and roughly 90 communities will have to address it for the first time thanks to the lower national limits.
“A lot of colleagues have reached out saying, ‘Hey, we know Westfield kind of led on this…’ asking what does this look like,” said Velis
His first answer… it is expensive and his community has already paid the bill, “Municipal governments are not equipped to handle this financial burden themselves.”
“The good work that Westfield has done in terms of remediation is money we should be entitled to,” added Velis.