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PARKERSBURG -- The announcement of proposed EPA regulations for C8 and related chemicals will not impact the Parkersburg Utility Board's plans to remove the substance from its drinking water.
"We're already in the process of putting in the treatment to essentially eliminate our PFOA, PFAS," PUB Manager Eric Bennett said Tuesday.
The utility is set to receive $12.6 million from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council to install a granular activated carbon filtration system at the water treatment plant.
The funds came from last year's federal infrastructure law and are intended to address contaminants like C8, also known as PFOA and one of the chemicals called PFAS.
It's a step many utilities will have to take if the maximum contaminant level proposed Tuesday is finalized, something that could happen by the end of the year.
After a specified implementation period, public water systems will be required to test for the substances and notify the public and reduce the levels if they exceed the threshold of 4 parts per trillion.
That's a third of the level the PUB found in treated water after its most recent testing, Bennett said. Though not required to, the utility has long tested for the presence of C8, which was used for years in the Teflon-manufacturing process at the Washington Works plant, formerly owned by DuPont and now by its spinoff, Chemours.
DuPont and Chemours paid for the installation of carbon filtration systems in a number of local water systems, but Parkersburg's never reached the levels to make it eligible.
Bennett said the PUB recently received a pilot filtration system that will be installed this week to help determine how often the media in it will need replaced. An engineering proposal for the project is expected to be chosen at the board's March 28 meeting.
"It would be nice to get to construction early next year," he said. "That would be ideal."
Asked what he would tell customers concerned about the level of C8 in the water now, Bennett replied, "I drink the water every day. And I'm not going to stop."
The filtration systems for several water utilities were installed as a result of a class-action lawsuit over the presence of C8 in water supplies. Attorney Harry Deitzler, of Vienna, was one of the plaintiffs' lawyers.
"It's not anything particularly new to us," Deitzler said of Tuesday's announcement. "In working on this concern, we have long been aware of the problem, and it is good to know that the EPA is addressing human health and safety in regards to our drinking water."
C8 was phased out of the manufacturing process at Washington Works and has not been used there and at other sites since before Chemours' creation in 2015, said Cassie Olszewski, media relations and financial communications manager for Chemours. It was replaced in 2012 by hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid, often referred to by the trade name GenX.
But that substance has also been detected in surface water, groundwater, drinking water, rainwater and air emissions.
The EPA proposal includes a "hazard index" to evaluate the risks from mixtures of related chemicals, including GenX. Dave Altman, an attorney who represents the Little Hocking Water Association, said the filtration system there has kept GenX out of treated water but it remains a presence in wells and therefore a concern.
The hazard index "is protective, and it recognizes it's not just the GenX but the GenX with other compounds," he said. It converts a previous health advisory about the substance "into something that's regulatory," Altman said, adding that he is still evaluating it with experts.
Chemours challenged the non-enforceable, non-binding health advisory that established 10 parts per trillion as the amount not expected to have negative health effects over the course of a lifetime of exposure. Company representatives said the advisory was based on an assessment with "numerous scientific flaws."
Chemours is reviewing available information about Tuesday's announcement, Olszewski said.
"Chemours supports government regulation that is grounded in the best available science and follows the law. Agency action regarding HFPO-Dimer Acid that relies on a flawed health advisory or its underlying assessment would call into question if the proposal meets that standard," she said. "Chemours uses HFPO-DA as a polymerization aid in the production of four fluoropolymers that enable many of today's essential technologies - from semiconductor manufacturing and 5G to electric vehicles and clean hydrogen. Fluorinated chemistry is critical to modern life."
Bennett said prior sampling has not shown any GenX in Parkersburg's water.
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said in a statement Tuesday she was glad to see a drinking water standard issued for PFOA and PFOS, another related chemical. It's something she said she's urged three different administrations to do.
"I'm looking forward to hearing from those who will be impacted by this announcement, including local water systems and ratepayers across the country, on how we can provide assistance for implementation," Capito said. "No one should have to wonder if their water is safe to drink, and it's critical that we get this important regulation right."
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.