What are the costs and benefits to industry, the public, and the environment associated with NCDEQ’s proposed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances standards?

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) and the NC Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) hosted a research partnership interest meeting on September 28, 2023, to discuss this project. Click here for the meeting recording and slide deck.

The purpose of this request is to investigate the economic impacts of proposed rules that will regulate certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in treated wastewater. Project components will include identifying affected wastewater discharge facilities; identifying treatment methods and best management practices to remove/reduce PFAS in wastewater; and analyzing the costs and benefits of implementing a proposed PFAS standard and associated outcomes.

The project has multiple related components, which are described briefly below. Potential research partners had the opportunity to discuss these project components and other aspects of the research at the interest meeting noted above.

1. Quantify the scope of a proposed North Carolina rule.

   1. How many and which types of Division of Water Resources (DWR) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted facilities will the proposed PFAS standards affect?  
   2. What are the range of water quality impacts from current dischargers on downstream drinking water intakes?  
2. Review other state PFAS standards for surface water discharge and associated requirements. 

3. Identify available pollution reduction, best management practices, and technological solutions and the associated costs.

   1. What are the alternatives and best management practices for dischargers to reduce the presence of PFAS in their discharge streams? 
   2. What are the best available treatment methods to remove PFAS based on flow rates, wastewater matrix, and PFAS influent concentrations? 
   3. What treatment methods can owners implement at affected NPDES facilities?  

4. Quantify the cost of compliance for the affected sources.

   1. Determine the cost of treatment for affected NPDES facilities to remove PFAS, including design, construction, operation, and maintenance based on NCDEQ’s implementation schedule over the permitted flows and a range of PFAS levels based on facility type. 
   2. If significant industrial user (SIU) pretreatment requirements are implemented upstream of Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), what are the anticipated impacts on pretreatment operators (e.g., reduction in influent PFAS loads)? (The pretreatment operator would implement the requirements and the SIU would carry out the treatment.) 

5. Quantify the benefits of proposed standards.

   1. What are the anticipated benefits (e.g., human health, environmental, cost savings) of the proposed standards? 
   2. What are the net costs of the proposed standards? 
   3. Under the proposed PFAS standards, what improvements in water quality may be experienced at the intakes of drinking water systems? If there is a reduction in the water quality, what are the associated cost savings to the utility?   

The details of the research questions and project opportunities are not set in stone; discussion and refinement are likely.