On October 11th, 2019, the California Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) published notice of its proposed regulations concerning the accreditation of environmental laboratories. The proposed regulations make changes to California’s state laboratory accreditation program and affect the requirements that the environmental testing laboratories must meet to analyze environmental samples for regulatory purposes in California. ELAP has called for the incorporation of the 2016 TNI Standard with two California-specific exceptions.
California Lowers Notification Levels for PFOA, PFOS
On August 23rd the State Water Resources Control Board released public notice of updated Notification Levels (NLs) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water. The Water Board’s decision to lower NLs for these “forever chemicals” was not unexpected, but did generate some concern over unintended consequences of the plan. The new NLs are set at 5.1 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 6.5 ppt for PFOS. There has been no change to the Response Levels (RLs) for these contaminants. The original media release from the Water Board is as follows:
The Dog Days of Summer Proving Toxic to Pets
Harmful algal blooms made it into mainstream news this month following the death of dogs that reportedly that came into contact with the toxic blue-green algae that commonly grows in lakes and ponds during hot summer months.
The recent canine deaths and warning signs posted near water bodies from North Carolina to California demonstrate that current conditions are ideal for rapid cyanobacterial growth.
Water Board OKs Over $240 Million for Clean Drinking Water
In response to Govenor Newsom’s signing of SB 200 establishing the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, the State Water Resources Control Board authorized use of $241.5 Million for a program aimed at addressing California’s current drinking water quality challenges. As the Water Board’s media release states:
State and Federal PFAS Updates
Governor Signs Safe Drinking Water Bill
This month Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill to establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, which aims to improve access to safe drinking water for residents in disadvantaged communities. Approximately 1 million Californians currently lack access to safe drinking water, the vast majority of whom live in small rural communities that rely on private drinking water wells or poorly maintained water systems contaminated by harmful constituents such as arsenic, nitrates, and 1,2,3-TCP.