Peggy Stevens: What new EPA rules mean for Lake Memphremagog and the Coventry landfill

This commentary is by Peggy Stevens of Charleston, a member of the advisory committee for DUMP — Don’t Undermine Memphremagog’s Purity.

In recent weeks, the EPA has handed down two historic rules on toxic PFAS chemicals — the chemicals found in water and stain resistant fabrics and non-stick products like cookware, as well as literally hundreds of other commonly used household goods. These chemicals are proven to cause a multitude of health concerns, from reproductive and developmental problems to obesity, hypertension and various cancers.

The first rule drastically reduces the allowable limit of nine PFAS compounds (out of 15,000!) in drinking water. Admittedly there are shortcomings, but even so, the EPA position today on PFAS is much stronger than ever before.

For the first time, it is acknowledged that there is NO safe limit of exposure for the two most prevalent and worst offenders, PFOA and PFOS. The new maximum contaminant level for these two is now set at 4 parts per trillion — equivalent to one drop of ink in 20 Olympic sized swimming pools!

The standard for the remaining seven PFAS chemicals is 10 parts per trillion or less. Based on current research, there is every reason to believe that many, if not all, of the remaining 14,000 plus PFAS compounds are similarly dangerous to human and environmental health.

The second rule by the EPA is even more significant — both PFOA and PFOS are now classified as hazardous substances, which means they must be strictly managed, in hazardous waste facilities and in your average landfill.

For those of us living in the Lake Memphremagog watershed, the ruling is especially relevant, as concerns about contamination by PFAS, escaping into groundwater or into the air, grows. Groundwater test wells (which should not contain any PFAS) around the poorly sited Coventry landfill have tested positive for PFAS for years now. Insufficient capture and containment of landfill gases (which contain PFAS and other harmful chemicals) is also a concern. It is a proven fact that communities within three kilometers, or downwind of a landfill, are at risk of exposure to these escaped airborne toxic contaminants that eventually settle on land and water.

The waters of Lake Memphremagog are a public drinking water source for at least 175,000 Quebec neighbors, as well as a charger of wells on both sides of the border and habitat for fish and wildlife, which are consumed by many.

Release of landfill chemicals into our environment, by accident or deliberate discharge, must not be permitted to occur. Only the strictest safeguards and precautions must apply in the management of the Coventry landfill. Plans must be developed by our legislature and regulatory agencies now, to require that the next Vermont solid waste disposal facilities are sited near to where the most waste is produced, only in the most geologically and environmentally safe locations, and that facilities that handle leachate implement the most effective treatment technologies to remove and destroy PFAS from leachate.

Environmental protection and environmental justice are past due for the Lake Memphremagog watershed and its inhabitants!

Read the story on VTDigger here: Peggy Stevens: What new EPA rules mean for Lake Memphremagog and the Coventry landfill .