A letter released Friday by Sen. Liz Krueger to the state Department of Health urged Commissioner Howard Zucker to move forward with the development of maximum contaminant levels for PFOA, PFOS and 1,4 dioxane.
Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan who is chairwoman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, wrote the state “cannot wait any longer to have their drinking water protected from these dangerous chemicals.”
Communities in parts of upstate New York — including Petersburgh, Hoosick Falls and Newburgh — have grappled with water contamination problems in recent years involving the chemicals.
A drinking water quality panel last year announced recommendations for maximum contaminant levels in December.
Six months later, Krueger said she is concerned about the delay in formalizing the levels.
“Although the recommended levels were not as low as I and many others had advocated, the way is now clear for the Department to move forward with the rulemaking process,” she wrote in the level. “I was assured by your staff in November that that process would be well underway by the beginning of this year, but that is clearly not the case.”
Krueger also reiterated that her preferred contamination level caps should be maxed out at 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, and 0.3 parts per billion for 1,4-dioxane. She also called for statewide testing of emerging contaminants.
“In 2017, the Legislature instructed the Department to create a list of chemicals of concern for testing in all communities, regardless of size,” she wrote. “Yet New Yorkers still lack this critical drinking water protection.”
May 2019 Letter to Com. Zucker Regarding MCLs by Nick Reisman on Scribd