You May Want to Reconsider Drinking Tap Water

M.C. Millman

On Monday, December 12, Veolia Water New York was given a notice of violation for "failure to comply with deferral conditions" by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) after toxic forever chemicals (PFOA and PFOS) were found in the water above allowable limits. 

According to Veolia's website, the water company received a deferral from the DOH on January 8, 2021, to give them time to treat the chemicals in the water. Veolia is required to submit an action plan and quarterly report. 

In July 2022, the company requested an extension of the deferral for Rockland County. The extension was granted on August 23, 2022. However, the company has now violated the deferral conditions. 

A Notice of Violation was published by Veolia this month due to a "Failure to Comply with Deferral Conditions." Veolia did not update its website to reflect the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Health Advisory Level, revised in June of 2022 from seventy ppt (parts per trillion) for PFOA and PFOS combined to 0.004 ppt and 0.02 ppt, respectively. 

Veolia failed to provide customers with a copy of the public notice prepared by the DOH. Their website also contained incomplete information and did not include the notice provided by the DOH, including health effects information.

In the Notice of Violation, Veolia claims, "At the level of PFOA and PFOS detected in your water, exposure is well below PFOA and PFOS exposures associated with health effects. Your water continues to be acceptable for all uses, including using the water for drinking and food preparation."

This statement contradicts the EPA's interim updated health advisories for PFOA and PFOS. The EPA says that data and draft analyses indicate that negative health effects from PFOA and PFOS could occur at much lower levels than previously understood as reported on Rockland Daily here. 

The EPA said, "Human studies have found associations between PFOA and/ or PFOS exposure and effects on the immune system, the cardiovascular system, development (e.g., decreased birth weight), and cancer...EPA is concerned about the public health implications of these preliminary findings and is therefore issuing interim updated health advisories for PFOA and PFOS." See the complete statement here.

In contrast, the New York DOH allows up to 10 ppt each for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, as stated on their website here.. These levels are much higher than the EPA guidelines. 

The Rockland Water Coalition says, "New York has proposed levels for two types of PFAS – PFOA and PFOS that are hundreds of times higher than what the EPA now says is safe. New York's proposed standards are also much weaker than the states of Maine, Massachusetts, and Michigan. Governor Hochul must listen to the science and strengthen New York's proposed PFAS standards."

See recent test results and Veolia's quarterly updates here.