May 20, 2020
NC Legislative Update and EPA Update
EPA | Landfills | Press Release | Regulation | Solid Waste | Standards
NC House Bill 1108
On May 18th, HB 1108 had its first reading in the North Carolina House. The bill, whose short title is: PFAS Contamination Mitigation Measures could have a dramatic impact on the solid waste industry if passed in its current form. The portion of the bill that directly affects the solid waste industry includes the following:
The Department of Environmental Quality shall study the presence of PFAS in leachate collected and disposed of from municipal solid waste landfills and construction and demolition debris landfills, including identifying the most common PFAS that may be present in leachate, as well as the effectiveness of treatment technologies in wastewater treatment plants at removing PFAS prior to discharge. The Department shall report the findings of its study, including recommendations for legislative and Commission action, to the Environmental Management Commission and the Environmental Review Commission no later than September 1, 2021.
If, as a result of the study performed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Department of Environmental Quality finds that PFAS in landfill leachate cannot be practicably removed from wastewater prior to discharge, the Environmental Management Commission shall adopt rules to prohibit the disposal of leachate containing detectable PFAS at wastewater treatment plants.
This bill has been referred to the Committee on the Environment. It is likely that some version of this bill will pass the House. You can read the full draft bill here: https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2019/H1108
NC House Bill 1109
The NC House also had the first reading to HB1109 whose short title is: PFAS Manufacture/Use/Sale Ban. As is evident from the title, this bill would ban the manufacture of PFAS compounds, the use of PFAS compounds in the manufacturing process or the sale of products with PFAS compounds except for products specifically authorized by federal law. This bill has been referred to the Rules Committee. We do not anticipate this bill will be passed. You can read the draft bill here: https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2019/H1109
EPA Update
On Tuesday the EPA announced its next step in implementing PFAS legislation, by adding 172 PFAS constituents to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This change is effective immediately. You can read more here: https://wasteadvantagemag.com/epa-takes-next-step-to-implement-pfas-legislation/ and here: https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/implementing-statutory-addition-certain-and-polyfluoroalkyl
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