EPA to Hold Final PFAS Community Engagement in Leavenworth, Kansas

EPA to Hold Final PFAS Community Engagement in Leavenworth, Kansas

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CONTACT: [email protected]

EPA to Hold Final PFAS Community Engagement in Leavenworth, Kansas

WASHINGTON (August 20, 2018) — On Wednesday, September 5, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold its final 2018 PFAS Community Engagement event in Leavenworth, Kansas. This event will allow EPA to provide important information to the public on the agency’s PFAS actions and to hear directly from Heartland communities, states, local governments, and tribes about their experiences with PFAS.

WHAT: Leavenworth PFAS Community Engagement
WHEN: Wednesday, September 5
Working Session begins at 1:00 pm CST
Listening Session begins at 3:30 pm CST
WHERE: Riverfront Community Center
123 S. Esplanade
Leavenworth, KS 66048

The Kansas community engagement event will consist of two sessions — a public listening session and a PFAS working session. Both sessions are open to the public and press. If you are interested in attending the event, please register here: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/forms/pfas-community-engagement-leavenworth-kansas Those interested in speaking should select the option to speak while registering. For more information regarding the event visit: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-community-engagement-leavenworth-ks

EPA has made addressing PFAS a priority, and EPA is moving expeditiously on the following actions:

1. EPA will initiate steps to evaluate the need for a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS. We will convene our federal partners and examine everything we know about PFOA and PFOS in drinking water.
2. EPA is beginning the necessary steps to propose designating PFOA and PFOS as “hazardous substances” through one of the available statutory mechanisms, including potentially CERCLA Section 102.
3. EPA is currently developing groundwater cleanup recommendations for PFOA and PFOS at contaminated sites and will complete this task by fall of this year.
4. EPA is taking action in close collaboration with our federal and state partners to develop toxicity values for GenX and PFBS by this summer.

Background

Throughout the summer, EPA has conducted similar engagements with communities impacted by PFAS. For each engagement, EPA coordinated closely with the states and local communities to plan and select each of the PFAS Community Engagement events.

Community Engagements have been held in Exeter, New Hampshire (June 25-26); Horsham, Pennsylvania (July 25); Colorado Springs, Colorado (August 7-8); and Fayetteville, North Carolina (August 14). The EPA also engaged with tribal representatives at the Tribal Lands and Environment Forum in Spokane, Washington, on August 15.

To ensure that everyone who would like to provide input to the EPA has the opportunity to do so, the Agency has opened a docket for input from the public and will be accepting comments until September 28, 2018. Comments may be submitted at https://www.regulations.gov/ docket?D=EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0270
The Community Engagement events and the input the Agency has received through the docket thus far have been incredibly informative and will be used, along with perspectives from the National Leadership Summit to develop a PFAS Management Plan for release later this year.

So far, at these events EPA has engaged with almost a thousand individuals, including more than 150 who delivered remarks about their personal experiences in their communities. The Agency has also received over 60,000 comments through the docket.

To ensure the Agency is able to consider all of the input that has been—and will be—submitted, the docket will remain open through September 28, 2018. After September, EPA will consider all of the information submitted as the Agency works expeditiously to identify and take actions that will help states, tribes, and local communities to address challenges associated with PFAS.

To learn more about PFAS, please visit: www.epa.gov/pfas

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