Advocates for the health of Wisconsinites are hopeful that the state’s Natural Resources Board (NRB) will vote on establishing PFAS regulatory limits for both surface water and drinking water at its next meeting. The NRB, which sets policy for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), has scheduled its next meeting for February 22-23 in Madison.
The Wisconsin NRB is considering establishing PFAS standards for the first time in drinking water and surface water for two PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS. The proposed standards for drinking water are 8 ppt for PFOS and 20 ppt for PFOA, while the standards for surface water are 20 ppt for PFOA and PFOS.
According to an analysis prepared by the DNR, the proposed rules are related to three other sets of rules currently in progress:
• Rule package DG-15-19: proposing to establish groundwater standards for several compounds including PFOS and PFOA for the protection of human health.
• Rule package DG-24-19: proposing drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOS & PFOA.
• Rule package WA-07-20: proposing to regulate class B firefighting foams containing PFAS.
• Rule package WY-23-13: proposing revisions to ch. NR102, Wis. Adm. Code.
Merit Laboratories, a leading national PFAS environmental laboratory with Wisconsin accreditation, analyzing drinking water, soil, wastewater, groundwater, and other sample matrices, including biosolids and sludge. Analytical methods performed by Merit for PFAS include drinking water by EPA 533, EPA 537.1, and EPA 537 rev. 1.1, biosolids by ASTM D7968-17 with Isotopic Dilution, and soil, wastewater, groundwater, and surface water by ASTM D7979-19 with Isotopic Dilution and ASTM D7968-17.