At the end of the last update, we were left with three open issues: the Military’s response to the EPA’s new National Drinking Water Standard for PFAS; lawsuits challenging that standard; and testing of private wells with non-military sources of PFAS contamination. The last few months have brought us positive developments on two of these, and negative on the other. I’ll slide the bad news in between two slices of good. Continue reading A PFAS Sandwich
The Department of Health and the Department of Ecology have updated their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Joint Review Procedures for coordinating and reviewing water system planning and engineering documents. The MOU and Joint Review Procedures outline the roles and … Continue reading MOU and Joint Review Process Update
A PFAS Diary It’s been a minute since we did a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or “Forever Chemicals”) in drinking water roundup. If you’d like to start at the beginning of the PFAS saga, you can find all my … Continue reading Deference
https://tconnor.substack.com/p/fridays-postcard-and-the-spokane Finally…Eighty-three months have passed since PFAS “forever chemicals” were detected in groundwater at Spokane International Airport (SIA). On this timeline—against the backdrop of a years-long cover-up and the airport’s ‘get-off-my-lawn’ blame-shifting —today is significant. For the first time, SIA representatives are meeting with state Department of Ecology officials to begin implementing a cleanup plan for the notorious PFAS water pollution, a task that will likely extend well beyond the nine square miles encompassed by the airport’s boundaries. Continue reading Spokane airport (finally) hands its shoes to state regulators
Department of Ecology is hosting a webinar on January 31st at 5:30 pm. Click here for more details and to pre-register. Continue reading Questions about the Nooksack adjudication?
‘Forever chemicals’ in drinking water found at Whidbey ‘slice of heaven’ | South Whidbey Record For as long as she can remember, Tamara Ross’ family hasn’t liked the taste of drinking water at Harrington Lagoon. So they’ve always brought bottled water to their vacation homes in the idyllic community east of Coupeville on Whidbey Island. The family has owned property there since 1955. They now have three homes right next to each other. “I love it,” said Ross, who goes there about once a month. “It’s our slice of heaven.” Continue reading ‘Forever chemicals’ in drinking water found at Whidbey ‘slice of heaven’ | South Whidbey Record
As the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act celebrate their 50th anniversaries, they are failing rural Americans. Continue reading Can I buy bottled water with food stamps?
The Washington State Department of Ecology has updated the What’s In My Neighborhood (wa.gov) map to include the PFAS in drinking water sites in Island County that meet Ecology’s criteria for further investigation and cleanup. Visiting the site and clicking … Continue reading Ecology Map of PFAS in Island County
You’re invited to review and comment on our draft cleanup guidance for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination and cleanup.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are collectively known as PFAS. This group comprises thousands of unique synthetic organic chemicals that are extremely stable and persistent. Continue reading DRAFT Guidance for Investigating and
Remediating PFAS Contamination in
Washington State
Focus on: PFAS cleanup levels (wa.gov) This focus sheet provides the Washington StateDepartment of Ecology’s (Ecology’s) recommendedsoil and groundwater cleanup levels for part of agroup of harmful compounds known as per- andpolyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Continue reading Focus on: PFAS Cleanup Levels