Despite EPA Memo Repeal, EAB Backs PFAS Permit Controls

Environmental attorney Jeff Porter was featured in an Inside PFAS Policy article about the implications of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to withdraw guidance encouraging states to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through wastewater discharge permits. A recent ruling from the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) on PFAS limits in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits raises questions for states and practitioners about Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance when it comes to these emerging contaminants. Jeff explained the EPA's move to rescind the guidance doesn't necessarily affect dischargers' obligations under the CWA, though it did provide "some comfort" for regulated entities. He added another reason for the guidance withdrawal could be the cost of addressing minute concentrations of PFAS wastewater.

"These are costs the [federal government] has not yet agreed to entirely bear," he said. "Not all states and municipalities can bear them. And allocation of those costs through cost recovery litigation is as inefficient now as it has been throughout the history of Superfund."

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