Author: Savannah Sinor, Abigail Carpenter
The Hometown Strong Team has created a short, four-part blog series to shed some light on the growing issue of PFAS. In this fourth and final edition, we'll explore the actions the state government has taken to tackle the problem, and the resources available to rural communities to address this issue.
The Environmental Protection Agency has recently established strict limits on the amount of PFAS allowed in drinking water. These new limits will help set guidelines for state management of PFAS and provide guidelines for when intervention is necessary.
To tackle PFAS, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has adopted a three-phase strategy: identify affected communities, minimize additional contamination, and clean up existing contaminants. More information about the DEQ program can be found here.
The department has partnered with local communities to test their water. It has developed a Treatment System Assistance Program, which provides some reimbursement to residents for the purchase of treatment systems or connection of private wells to public waterways to reduce exposure to PFAS when no other party is providing an alternative.
DEQ is also utilizing federal funding to provide a grant for local government units, non-profit water corporations, and investor-owned drinking water companies that have ongoing or planned projects that address PFAS contamination in water or wastewater systems. This funding may also go to testing drinking water systems. Grant applications will be accepted again in Fall 2024 for the Emerging Contaminants grant program.
DEQ also offers information about PFAS levels in the water through its sampling of public waterways across the state since 2022. The results of this testing can be found here. DEQ's Division of Air Quality offers a similar source which has monitored PFAS air levels at 7 sites (Raleigh, Fayetteville, Asheville, Wilmington, Washington, Mooresville, and Winston Salem) since 2018. Weekly updates can be found here.