The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued the first-ever nationwide standards that create enforceable limits on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water.
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, have been used since the 1940s to make products waterproof or stain proof, and found in a variety of things like cosmetics, adhesives, and even firefighting foam. Even in low doses they can cause cancer, birth complications and liver damage.
Greg Olsen is the head of DEQ’s Public Water Supply division. He says with the federal rules in place, city and county public water systems now have three years to sample their water and report it to the state.
"They'll have two years after that to come up with a solution, how they're going to treat their water or if they're going to find a new source," Olsen says.
The agency has funding communities can apply for to address contaminants in water supplies.
Montana does not have its own state regulations on the chemicals. All PFAS sampling conducted in the state to date has been done voluntarily by city water systems.
In March, the City of Kalispell found unsafe levels of PFAS in 2 of its 11 wells. Kalispell is working with DEQ to find new water sources to replace the contaminated ones.
States will have five years to carry out public water testing and PFAS mitigation efforts to comply with the new federal rules.
