West Virginia Code 22-11C-3 – Identification of PFAS sources where PFAS has been detected in raw water sources for public drinking water systems
(a) To identify and address sources of PFAS in raw water sources of public drinking water systems, DEP shall:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 22-11C-3
- Office: means any office, division, board, agency, unit, organizational entity or component thereof within the Department of Environmental Protection. See West Virginia Code 22-1-2
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- PFAS: means non-polymeric perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances that contain at least two fully fluorinated carbon atoms, excluding gases and volatile liquids. See West Virginia Code 22-11C-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- USGS study: means United States Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5067, entitled "Occurrence of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Inorganic Analytes in Groundwater and Surface Water Used as Sources for Public Water Supplies in West Virginia" published in 2022. See West Virginia Code 22-11C-2
(1) Write a PFAS action plan to identify and address sources of PFAS by July 1, 2024, for each of the 37 raw water sources for which the USGS study has measured PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, or HFPO-DA above the practical quantitation limit and above USEPA’s applicable drinking water human health advisory;
(2) For each raw water source for which the USGS study has measured PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, or HFPO-DA above the method detection level, above USEPA’s applicable drinking water human health advisory, and below the practical quantitation limit, DEP shall initiate a study to sample the finished water of the associated public water system, after treatment, by December 31, 2023;
(3) For each public water system for which the measured PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, or HFPO-DA in the finished water is above the method detection level and above USEPA’s applicable drinking water human health advisory, whether or not the measured value is above or below the practical quantitation limit, DEP shall write a PFAS action plan to identify and address sources of PFAS for the public water system’s raw water source or sources. The first 50 such plans shall be completed by December 31, 2025, and the remaining plans shall be completed by December 31, 2026;
(4) For each public water system for which a PFAS action plan is required under this section, DEP shall provide information to the public water system regarding PFAS raw water and finished water sampling results, DEP’s schedule for developing any required PFAS action plan, a summary of results from any completed PFAS action plan, information about how to obtain any completed PFAS action plan, and contact information for an appropriate person or office at DEP to which questions can be directed. Public water systems are subject to the Fifth Unregulated Contaminate Monitoring Rule (UCMR), 40 C.F.R. part 141, which are also subject to the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) and the Public Notification (PN) rules under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq., as enacted, amended, and as may be subsequently amended, to which the public water systems are required to notify their customers of available UCMR results and report UCMR results in their annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) when unregulated contaminants, including PFAS, are detected;
(5) Recommend any necessary changes to West Virginia statutes or administrative rules to address the sources of PFAS chemicals; and
(6) Report annually on its activities to the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources.
(7) In developing PFAS action plans, consult with other applicable units of state government, organizations representing West Virginia public drinking water systems, West Virginia public drinking water systems, and other relevant entities with knowledge related to identifying and addressing PFAS sources.
(b) The PFAS action plans, to the extent that data are available, shall identify the source or sources of PFAS in the raw water source, and regulatory and non-regulatory options for addressing each identified source of PFAS and minimizing the impacts on public water systems.
(c) The PFAS action plans and associated studies herein required do not change the duty or drinking water standard requirements of public water systems.