Lewis Roca Blog

On November 25, 2019, the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis of the potential impacts of a Senate measure that would set concentration standards for per- and polyflouroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water and require drinking water providers to meet new drinking water standards for PFAS. The Environmental Protection Agency has not established new regulations under the proposed legislation so the CBO was not able to quantify impacts on private water utilities. However, in addition to federal budgetary impacts, the CBO analysis noted that “because more than 67,000 public water systems would be subject to the new regulations, CBO expects that the capital and operating costs for monitoring, treating, and removing PFAS from drinking water could exceed several billion dollars in the first five years the mandate would be in effect.” As the proposed measure is expected to be attached to the annual defense authorization bill, utilities should be aware of the potential impacts on their businesses and begin to prepare for the implementation of new standards.

For more information, please contact Stan Lutz, Partner at slutz@lrrc.com.

Read more on this topic, in our previous blog post: PFAS Legislation May Impact Utilities and Other Unprepared Sectors