State regulators have set interim groundwater limits for eight types of PFAS, or so-called "forever chemicals." In July, Alamance County residents petitioned state regulators to develop rules for these eight chemicals over concerns that their wells had been contaminated.
The state regulates any manmade chemicals, and groundwater standards provide people with a baseline, based on available health data, to measure test results. The idea is that anything above the limit is hazardous to your health.
Let’s say you have a private well. You test that well for pollutants and learn that your water contains some PFAS variants above the interim standards. You might be eligible for assistance through the state’s PFAS Treatment System Assistance Program depending on the chemical. The interim limits may also provide communities with a legal foundation to hold polluters accountable.
The Division of Water Resources can set an interim limit for 12 months, then the state’s Environmental Management Commission will — in effect — play a game of keep or throw. If they decide to keep, the limit begins the process of becoming a standard. If they throw, we’re back to where we started.
