Regulatory Update: An Analysis of Regulatory Changes and Trends at the Federal and State Level Surrounding PFAS in Biosolids

Background Biosolids management in the United States is driven by evolving federal and state regulations which shape, not only wastewater solids processing technologies, but also the marketing, distribution, and overall cost to manage the processed biosolids product. In recent years, the impetus of revisions to federal and state regulations has been environmental stressors such as climate change and the presence of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in biosolids. In particular, a group of CEC's known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), has been the primary focus of the USEPA and has already begun to shape the landscape surrounding biosolids beneficial use and disposal across the country. The USEPA is in the process of finalizing the Biosolids Risk Assessment for PFOS and PFOA in biosolids. The Risk Assessment is part of a multi-stage process to evaluate the need for regulatory guidance surrounding the compound's presence in biosolids. The USEPA is expected to provide draft results for the Assessment before the end of 2024, an unprecedented tactic that does not follow the formal Risk Assessment Process. This analysis will review the draft results, what they mean, and how they are impacting the formulation of new state regulations across the country. In anticipation of USEPA guidance on PFAS in biosolids, a few key states have adopted unique policy changes which have had tremendous impact across the country. This analysis will also review recent changes to state regulations in Michigan, California, Maine, and New York which have each implemented changes in the regulatory framework which guides beneficial use and disposal of biosolids in their respective states and influenced state policy across their regions. The changes to regulations in each state have presented unique opportunities and challenges to utilities as they develop long-term strategies for the management of wastewater solids generated at their respective facilities. As utilities respond to changes in regulations, the landscape surrounding beneficial use and disposal of the end product has and will continue to shift. Objective The USEPA Risk Assessment process will be analyzed to provide context for the draft results to be released ahead of the conference, with a focus on the following objectives: 1.Review the standard Risk Assessment process used by the USEPA to develop Part 503 guidance for the beneficial use of biosolids. 2.Analyze the draft results provided by the USEPA for PFOA and PFOS, adding context to the results by reviewing the risk ratio used to develop the results. 3.Provide a review of the next steps in the Risk Assessment process. Several states have enacted policy updates and changes ahead of USEPA's release of the biosolids Risk Assessment, this presentation will evaluate those changes and show trends on how biosolids management has been impacted focusing on the following objectives: 1.Review which states have implemented PFAS reduction strategies which require sampling and/or provide limits for PFAS in biosolids. 2.Review the process of implementing PFAS reduction strategies in key states such as Maine, Michigan, California, and New York. 3.Compare and analyze the initial draft results of the USEPA Risk Assessment with the existing state regulations surrounding PFAS in biosolids. Methodology In depth research was conducted on the USEPA Risk Assessment process to develop a Risk Assessment Factsheet for WEF. The research conducted will be used to show the historical use of the Risk Assessment process in the formulation of regulatory guidelines surrounding beneficial use of biosolids as well as the existing process used for the evaluation of PFAS in biosolids. Detailed reviews of state regulations surrounding the beneficial use and disposal of biosolids was conducted for key states across the country. Research was analyzed and confirmed by completing surveys with regulators across each state, providing updates to recent regulatory efforts and potential impacts for the beneficial use and disposal of biosolids. Findings and Current Status An analysis of the USEPA Risk Assessment process is used to compare and contract historical applications of the Assessment with the existing process being used to evaluate PFOA and PFOS in biosolids. A summary of key insights follows: 1.High-level review of the USEPA's Risk Assessment shows changes to the process of evaluating results and the need for regulatory changes. The traditional Risk Assessment Process utilizes a Risk Management analysis ahead of releasing draft results of the Risk Assessment. The Risk Management analysis is used to determine the cost-benefit of regulatory changes compared to the risk of exposure to the analyzed chemicals. 2.Reviewing how the draft results were developed based upon USEPA's approach to the Risk Assessment. The USEPA used a deterministic approach to evaluating the risk of PFOA and PFOS in biosolids, a process which produces a single risk value. The risk ratio used during the process focused on risk relative to the farm family. This ratio, paired with the deterministic approach used by the USEPA, will result in draft results showcasing a single value worst-case scenario which may not be representative of typical conditions. 3.Review of Draft Results and Next Steps. Draft results released by USEPA will be reviewed using the research provided in the earlier stages to add context to the results and what the next steps will be for determining the need for PFOA and PFOS limits in biosolids. Regulatory Assessments for each state reveal unique opportunities and challenges associated with beneficial use and disposal of biosolids products driven by historic, recent, and potential future state specific regulations. The guidelines issued by Maine, California, Michigan, and New York each represent unique ways of managing PFAS in biosolids ahead of direction from the USEPA. Each state's approach will be compared and contrasted to the draft results provided by the USEPA. California has focused on source control PFAS and mandated monitoring for PFOA and PFOS in biosolids to show the real-time reduction of PFAS compounds in biosolids as key regulatory efforts are implemented focused on source control. The average concentration of PFAS compounds in biosolids will be compared to the draft numbers provided by USEPA. Michigan set the precedent for PFAS monitoring and limits in the United States, developing the Michigan Model which has received praise from USEPA and influenced surrounding states. The process used to develop and implement the model will be reviewed and compared to other state regulatory efforts such as New York and Maine.