June 2, 2020-
Today, HB1264, an important piece of legislation passed the NH Senate Health and Human Services committee on a unanimous vote.
Due to the pandemic, the House and Senate are working on combining priority bills in a few larger ones. The bill, first introduced only to extend the life of the Pediatric Cancer Cluster Commission (very important), has been amended to include some additional very important pieces of legislation including:
1- writing the PFAS drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLS) for #PFOA, #PFOS, #PFNA and PFHxS into state statute. This would importantly circumvent the 3M and Plymouth Water and Sewer District lawsuit to block these important protections on our drinking water.
2- Providing $60M to implement #1.
3- Requiring insurance companies to cover PFAS blood testing. So many of us in NH want and need this to pass so physicians will order PFAS blood testing when so many of us have been exposed, without our knowledge to PFAS contaminated drinking water.
I want to thank so many for their work including Senator Tom Sherman, Senator Martha Fuller Clark, Senator David Watters, Senator Jeb Bradley, House Rep. Renny Cushing and House Rep. David Meuse.
We will need your help in advance of the full Senate floor vote but this is a big victory for all of us today!
est, Mindi
Today, HB1264, an important piece of legislation passed the NH Senate Health and Human Services committee on a unanimous vote.
Due to the pandemic, the House and Senate are working on combining priority bills in a few larger ones. The bill, first introduced only to extend the life of the Pediatric Cancer Cluster Commission (very important), has been amended to include some additional very important pieces of legislation including:
1- writing the PFAS drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLS) for #PFOA, #PFOS, #PFNA and PFHxS into state statute. This would importantly circumvent the 3M and Plymouth Water and Sewer District lawsuit to block these important protections on our drinking water.
2- Providing $60M to implement #1.
3- Requiring insurance companies to cover PFAS blood testing. So many of us in NH want and need this to pass so physicians will order PFAS blood testing when so many of us have been exposed, without our knowledge to PFAS contaminated drinking water.
I want to thank so many for their work including Senator Tom Sherman, Senator Martha Fuller Clark, Senator David Watters, Senator Jeb Bradley, House Rep. Renny Cushing and House Rep. David Meuse.
We will need your help in advance of the full Senate floor vote but this is a big victory for all of us today!
est, Mindi
New Hampshire/New England Project
Notes
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
http://nhdes.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=66770bef141c43a98a445c54a17720e2&extent=-73.5743,42.5413,-69.6852,45.4489
In 2019, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) adopted rules that establish health-based Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and Ambient Groundwater Quality Standards (AGQS) for four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that include: 12 ppt for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 15 ppt for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), 18 ppt for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and 11 ppt for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).
The effective date upon which the rules became enforceable standards was September 30, 2019. However, effective December 31, 2019, the Merrimack County Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of these rules due to the alleged failure of NHDES to appropriately consider the costs and benefits of the rules.
As a result, there are currently no enforceable drinking water MCLs for the four chemicals.
The former Ambient Groundwater Quality Standard (AGQS) rule of 70 ppt for PFOA, PFOS, or combined concentrations of the two chemicals, as adopted by NHDES in 2016, remains in effect, while the 2019 rules are enjoined.
These rules do not require testing by owners of private water wells. NHDES does recommend for health reasons that private wells meet the standards.
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Interactive map
NH PFAS Investigation Page
https://www4.des.state.nh.us/nh-pfas-investigation/
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https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/wqs/documents/r-wd-19-30.pdf
Plan to Generate PFAS Surface Water Quality Standards (Prepared for the New Hampshire Legislature in Accordance STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES December 30, 2019
NHDES developed a plan to establish surface water quality standards for four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This plan contains a schedule and cost estimates.
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Until the court ruling, New Hampshire had the country’s most sweeping limits for PFAS chemical contamination in drinking water.
New Hampshire was the first state to require local water systems, landfills and wastewater plants to routinely test and treat for four chemicals classified as PFAS. Those include PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, and PFNA.
Testing began in October but has now been suspended.
The state is also suing the makers of PFAS chemicals - 3M and DuPont – as well as five makers of PFAS-based firefighting foam. The lawsuits allege negligence in how the chemicals were allowed to contaminate New Hampshire’s natural resources.
Private Wells
Approximately half of New Hampshire’s residents get their water from private wells, many of which have also been affected by PFAS contamination. DES estimates that 9 percent of private wells statewide would be considered out of compliance with the state’s new standards, if they had to follow them.
The new rules did not apply to private well owners, but the state encourages testing and filtration and provides some resources to help.
A New Hampshire judge ordered that the state suspend at year’s end enforcement of its new rules tightening allowable limits on fluorinated “forever” chemicals, as the 3M company had asked.
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New Hampshire's regulations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) require a more thorough cost-benefit analysis before implementation, according to a new ruling. The Union-Leader reports Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Richard B. McNamara granted a preliminary injunction against required testing for PFAS in landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and water systems on Nov. 26.
Several companies, including PFAS manufacturer 3M, argued the rules constituted an unfunded mandate in a September lawsuit, which McNamara said likely did not apply. "Plaintiffs have not established that they will likely succeed [in their arguments]," he wrote, but nonetheless determined that the state Department of Environmental Services (DES) "has not conducted an adequate cost-benefit analysis" to regulate PFAS.
The regulations, which went into effect October 1, 2019, were the first in the United States to require routine landfill testing. The injunction does not take effect until Dec. 31 and either party can appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. DES did not respond to a request for comment from Waste Dive by publishing time.
CLF and NRDC Brief
The CLF brief argues that the New Hampshire trial court did not consider the public’s substantial interest in the testing provisions of the DES rules before preliminarily enjoining them. The brief references the trial court’s Order stating:
CONCORD, NH – Supporting the state’s effort to protect public health from highly toxic “forever chemicals,” Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) filed a brief today in a landmark PFAS case in New Hampshire’s Supreme Court. 3M is challenging the state’s new rules establishing drinking water standards for the toxic chemicals.
“3M is fighting to keep New Hampshire residents in the dark about the harm they’re facing from the corporation’s toxic ‘forever chemicals.’ These dangerous compounds have been linked to cancer of the kidneys and testicles and harm to pregnant moms and infants at extremely low levels of exposure. It’s intolerable that the polluter 3M is adding insult to injury by seeking to block the state’s effort to protect its residents from the chemicals 3M unleashed into our homes and bodies,” said Erik D. Olson, NRDC’s senior strategic director of health and food.
CLF and NRDC Amicus Brief
https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/amicus-brief-clf-20200429.pdf
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Lowell water treatment plant to stop accepting toxic water from N.H. landfill
By David Abel and Maria Lovato Globe Correspondent and Globe Staff,November 7, 2019, 8:43 p.m.
Under pressure from lawmakers and environmental advocates, officials in Lowell said Thursday that they had suspended a contract with a New Hampshire landfill that sent a large volume of toxic runoff into the Merrimack River, a source of drinking water to more than a half-million people.
Federal regulators had recently renewed a permit allowing Turnkey Landfill in Rochester, N.H., to send as much as 100,000 gallons of daily runoff to a Lowell treatment plant that empties into the long-polluted river.
Earlier this week, the Globe reported that environmental regulators approved the permit even though the company’s tests showed that the amount of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” because they never fully degrade, was more than 100 times higher than federal and state guidelines. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to kidney cancer, low infant birth weights, and other health issues.
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New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
PFAS
https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/pfcs/index.htm
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N.H. Senate supports tough PFAS standards
Associated Press 2/13/2020
The chamber unanimously voted to put into law the standards that were put forth last year by the state Department of Environmental Services for potentially harmful chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known collectively as PFAS.
If the bill becomes law, it would sidestep that injunction and allow the standards to be enforced – just as they are for lead and arsenic.
The standards limit one chemical to a maximum of 12 parts per trillion and another to 15 parts per trillion, far lower than the 70 parts per trillion the federal Environmental Protection Agency has advised for the chemicals.
The bill was crafted in response to a lawsuit filed by 3M, a farmer and several others who are trying to block the standards from taking effect. A judge in the case issued a temporary injunction in December that prevents the standards from being enforced.
One of the supporters of tough standards, Mindi Messmer, co-founder of the New Hampshire Safe Water Alliance, welcomed the vote. She said the bill circumvents “3M’s unseemly attempt to block N.H. citizens from clean safe drinking water when they turn on the faucet.”
But a leading business group in the state, the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire, said it was disappointed with the vote and felt the issue should continue to be litigated in the courts.
“Instead of letting the appeals process play out, legislators are engaged in an end run around the court,” BIA President Jim Roche said in a statement. “The legal challenge in court should be allowed to finish so that the people of New Hampshire can be sure the strictest (standards) in the country are justified and not simply an emotional overreaction.”
A lawyer representing 3M in the lawsuit over the drinking water standards did not respond to a request for comment. But in the past, 3M said that “acted responsibly in connection with products containing PFAS” and would “vigorously defend its environmental stewardship.”
Another bill that passed unanimously sets up a $50 million fund to help communities pay for complying with the news standards, including testing water, installing monitoring wells and upgrading water treatment systems.
The money could be paid back if the state reaches a settlement with the eight companies, including 3M and the DuPont Co., that it has sued, accusing them of being responsible for damage caused by PFAS.
“This is about the communities and families that have been suffering and wondering about their water,” Sen. David Watters, a Democrat from Dover, said in support of the bill.
More than 700 homes in New Hampshire whose drinking water was contaminated by PFAS have been connected to new water. The state estimates more than 100,000 other people eventually could be affected.
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Bipartisan Support For Bills To Reauthorize New State PFAS Limits, Help Towns Cover Costs
By ANNIE ROPEIK • FEB 4, 2020
A plan to offer loans for New Hampshire towns to cover the cost of new limits on PFAS chemicals in drinking water got bipartisan support from state lawmakers Tuesday.
The state's strict PFAS limits were supposed to take effect last fall, but are on hold under a court injunction.
A state Senate committee already unanimously approved a bill that would get around that injunction by putting the limits regulators developed directly into state statute.
The enjoined limits were rules set by the Department of Environmental Services at the legislature’s direction. Lawmakers did not originally specify numbers for the limits.
On Tuesday, that same committee voted infavor of setting up a $50 million loan fund to help pay local compliance costs with the rules if and when they become active again. The plan is an amendment to an earlier bill, SB496.
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CONCORD – March 12, 2020 - The Senate on Wednesday voted 24-0 in favor of a bill that requires insurance coverage for perfluoroalkyls (PFAS) and perfluorinated compound (PFC) blood testing.
Senate Bill 623-FN builds on the work of two other bills this year that also seek to address New Hampshire’s drinking water and wastewater contamination, SB 287-FN and SB 486.
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The New Hampshire General Court suspended its session indefinitely,
effective March 14, 2020, through March 20, 2020. On March 17, 2020, lawmakers announced that the suspension would be extended through April 10, 2020. The suspension was subsequently extended further, first through May 4, 2020, then indefinitely. Legislative deadlines were postponed indefinitely.[1][2][3]
Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 14-10 majority in the Senate and a 234-166 majority in the House. Republicans controlled the governorship.
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SUMMARY REPORT ON THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DEVELOPMENT OF MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVELSAND AMBIENT GROUNDWATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR PERFLUOROOCTANESULFONIC ACID (PFOS), PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID (PFOA), PERFLUORONONANOIC ACID (PFNA), AND PERFLUOROHEXANESULFONIC ACID (PFHxS)
Prepared by New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/publications/documents/r-wd-19-01.pdf Robert R. Scott, Commissioner Clark B. Freise, Assistant Commissioner January 4, 2019
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Center Strafford Training Site (Army)
Army National Guard Center Strafford Training Site, N.H. 60.59 2017 6:2 FTS, PFBS, PFBA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFHxA, PFNA, PFOS, PFOA, PFPeA
https://cdn3.ewg.org/sites/default/files/u352/EWG_PFASTable-Army_C01.pdf
DETAILS
Contamination site: Center Strafford Training Site
Location: Strafford County, New Hampshire
PFAS in Drinking Water
Suspected Source: Firefighting foam
PFAS Detected In: New Hamsphire National Guard Training Site Water System: W20090, W20093, WTP
Test Results:
PFA Years tested Maximum Level (ppt)*
PFBS 2017-2018 2.0
PFBA 2017 3.2
PFHxS 2017-2018 1.7
PFHxA 2017 13.5
PFOS 2017-2018 5.8
PFOA 2017-2018 10.0
PFPeA 2017 10.8
PFNA 2017-2018 1.3
PFHpA 2017-2018 2.7
6:2FTS 2017 9.6
Levels listed are for the maximum of each PFAS detected at the time of the tests and do not reflect whether a water system is treating the water to reduce levels.
https://www.denix.osd.mil/army-pfas/army-pfas-data/drinking-water-data/army-national-guard-bureau-data-26-april-2019/
Defense Logistics Agency - Newington
Suspected Source: Firefighting foam
Test Results: PFOS+PFOA Groundwater On-base 1,270 2018
https://partner-mco-archive.s3.amazonaws.com/client_files/1524589484.pdf
Addressing Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Maureen Sullivan Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Environment, Safety & Occupational Health) March 2018
New Boston Air Force Station
Contamination site: New Boston Air Force Station
PFAS Detected In: New Boston Air Force Station Water System: PW-1, PW-2, PW-3, TRTMT BLDG (Well 1 and 2 combined-pre)
Test Results:
PFA Years tested Maximum Level (ppt)*
PFOS 2016-2017 66.0
PFOA 2016-2017 19.0
Levels listed are for the maximum of each PFAS detected at the time of the tests and do not reflect whether a water system is treating the water to reduce levels.
EWG from the results of a Freedom of Information Request
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“In 2017 a Preliminary Assessment (PA) was performed for a group of emerging contaminants known as Per and Polyflouroalkyl Substances (PFAS). An initial screening of 6 monitoring wells showed exceedances of the NHDES Heath Advisory of 70 ppt in 3 of the wells. A Site Investigation is currently underway and fieldwork is planned for 2019 to investigate these.”
- COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN NEW BOSTON AIR FORCE STATION NEW BOSTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE December 2018
Problem Statement:
New Boston Air Force Station (NBAFS), located in a rapidly-growing region of southern New Hampshire, has a history of past use that has potentially contaminated the water resources on the site as well as altered the site’s hydrology. Past use includes a landfill as well as training operations during WWII, primarily for use as a target site for bombing runs. Both live and inert ordnance were used during training, with thousands of bombs dropped. Many bombs detonated during training exercises, but some live ordnance remained on site after training ceased. Most of this ordnance has been identified and detonated in place over the last few decades. The impacts of these past land uses on water resources are largely unknown. Alteration of soils and groundwater flow paths in the basin, as well as contamination from the ordnance and landfill leachate may have occurred. In the region, the uncertainty over the possible impacts of Air Force operations poses a water resources management challenge. Thus, better understanding of the hydrology and water resources issues on NBAFS will benefit regional management of water resources. Overall Objective: Assess the quantity, quality, and distribution of surface and groundwater resources of NBAFS.
Specific Objectives:
1). Evaluate surface water flow and develop a delineated watershed profile showing surface water movement.
2). Inventory the annual inputs (precipitation) and outputs (evapotranspiration and streamflow) for NBFAS using the hydrologic model BROOK90.
3). Identify groundwater flow paths and lake level fluctuations throughout the year.
4). Identify potential contaminant migration through ground and surface water flow paths using water quality data from Shaw Environmental.
Objective 1: Evaluate the surface water flow and develop a delineated watershed profile showing surface water movement.
Deliverable 1: Watershed delineation and surface water flow maps:
1). Watershed delineation: Aerial and topographic views
2). Surface water flow map: Aerial, topographic, and water body view
Summary:
The New Boston Air Force Station watershed is approximately 3,454 acres or 5.4 miles2
in area and includes the towns of New Boston, Amherst, and Mont Vernon, NH (Figures 1-1 and
1-2). The watershed drains to the southeast with most of the surface water on the base reaching
Joe English Pond (JEP) and draining into Joe English Brook (JEB) (Figures 1-3 and 1-4). The
upper northeast and northwest corners of NBAFS fall outside of the watershed boundaries.
Watershed Assessment of New Boston Air Force Station (NBAFS) Emily DiFranco and William H. McDowell University of New Hampshire
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Pease Air Force Base in Rockingham County – High Levels
USAF contractor Chicago Bridge and Iron (CB&I) Federal Services sampled 21 wells located at Site 8 for PFAS in June 2013 and September 2013. The results showed PFOS and PFOA detected above the PHA with the highest concentration detected at 95 µg/L for PFOS and 120 µg/L for PFOA. (PFOS/PFOA = 215 ug/L = 215,000 ppt.
FINAL SITE 8 INTERIM MITIGATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION WORK PLAN CDRL A007 & A008 PERFLUORINATED COMPOUNDS (PFC) RELEASE RESPONSE FORMER PEASE AIR FORCE BASE Prepared for: Air Force Civil Engineer Center Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland, Texas Prepared by: Amec Foster Wheeler Contract Number: FA8903-16-D-0027 Task Order: FA8903-17-F-0063 January 2018
The discovery of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in on-base public groundwater supply wells and off-base residential wells required the US Air Force to undertake both immediate and long-term response actions to address the release of these contaminants to the environment and their associated impacts to human health. In 2015, the US Air Force reactivated the Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) at the request of NHDES to facilitate, in part, communication and community input on the on-going investigation and clean-up of PFOS/PFOA at Pease
March 2019 Explanation of Significant Differences Site 8 – Fire Department Training Area #2 Pease Air Force Base NPL Site Portsmouth, Newington and Greenland, New Hampshire
Final Five-Year Review Report (2014–2019) Former Pease Air Force Base Portsmouth, New Hampshire September 2019
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Addressing Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Maureen Sullivan Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Environment, Safety & Occupational Health) March 2018
https://partner-mco-archive.s3.amazonaws.com/client_files/1524589484.pdf
It is astonishing to consider that the public was drinking water until May of 2014 that contained 2,500 ppt of PFOS and PFOA. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) was abruptly notified by the U.S. Air Force on May 12, 2014 that people had been drinking heavily contaminated water for many years. This is a crime of epic proportions while the perpetrator has escaped prosecution.
According to selective data released by the DOD in March of 2018, there were five other installations across the country with drinking water that contained higher levels of PFAS contamination, although activists in New Hampshire have caused more of a ruckus and have managed to do more to protect public health than anywhere else. Consider these:
- Navy Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 8,100
- Air Force - Peterson AFB Colorado DW 7910 ppt
- Navy NAS Oceana - NALF, Fentress Virginia 4,900
- Navy NAS Whidbey Island, Washington 3,823
- Air Force - Former Wurtsmith AFB Michigan DW 2923 ppt
AF has agreement with the City of Portsmouth to install a treatment system on the Public well. Installed interim groundwater mitigation system to prevent migration of groundwater above the LHA to private water wells. Developed design plan to install interim mitigation system to prevent migration of groundwater above the LHA to the pubic DW wells.
Fund City of Portsmouth actions to install treatment system. Negotiate with private well owners to connect to public water supply in the next 18 months. Operate installed groundwater mitigation systems.
Air Force-BRAC Former Pease AFB New Hampshire GW 479,500 ppt PFOS+PFOA 12 10 73 - 31,800 ppt PFOS+PFOA
Completed basewide Preliminary Assessment and completed the site inspection. Received regulatory concurrence on the findings. Interim modification of existing Fire Training Area groundwater treatment systems with granulated activated carbon to mitigate PFOS/PFOA discharges.
Designed groundwater treatment systems for a Fire Training Area and aircraft crash site to prevent migration of groundwater above the LHA to drinking water wells. Perform delineation of PFOS/PFOA in groundwater along the pathways to drinking water identified receptors. Install interim groundwater mitigation systems at Fire Training Area site and aircraft crash site to prevent migration of groundwater above the LHA to drinking water wells.
Defense Logisitic Agency
Defense Logistics Agency Installations where DoD Sampled Groundwater Monitoring Wells and Actions Taken where Results were Above the EPA LHAs1 On-base Groundwater Monitoring Wells Off-base Groundwater Monitoring Wells DLA Energy DFSP Newington 1270 ppt.
PFAS Fish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wz9ZUifOt0&list=PLbWLuouS8nDonXq6ry-QeI5-bZB6WGFbK&index=16&t=0s