ELKTON — The Town of Elkton is preparing to eliminate potentially dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from its water supply after the town’s Mayor and Commissioners unanimously approved an agreement with engineering firm KCI Technologies to begin the removal process Wednesday, Feb. 2.
The agreement will allow KCI to begin a preliminary study to identify the scope of a cleanup project, potential costs and a time frame for project completion. The project will focus on Well 3 in Elkton, as the well currently shows a PFAS presence of 21.8 parts per-trillion (ppt).
The health effects of exposure to PFAS chemicals are still widely unknown, but officials say the presence of the chemicals is a growing concern – as they do not break down naturally. For local municipalities, concerns over the chemicals are growing in anticipation of a maximum containment level (MCL) to be set by the Environmental Protection Agency by the end of the year. As previously stated by Attorney Jay Gullo, ridding drinking water of PFAS chemicals will be an expensive endeavor once an MCL is set.
“PFAS will eventually need to be removed from the water,” said Gullo. “The EPA comes out with a regulation and [the Maryland Department of Environment] is the enforcement of that regulation, we are going to towns like Elkton who have these chemicals in their water to assist them in getting ahead of the cleanup cost should the regulation be lower than the town’s current levels.”
When Elkton’s Well 3 was tested in October 2020, the results showed a PFAS concentration of more than 28 ppt which prompted additional testing per MDE protocols. The additional tests were conducted in November 2020 and showed a minor decrease of PFAS from 28 ppt to 27.2 ppt and, now, 21.8 ppt.
Currently, towns only have an EPA-issued health advisory level (HAL) of 70 ppt for PFAS in drinking water. The HAL was issued in 2016, however the EPA says an enforceable MCL is yet to be determined. On its website, the EPA lists that the MCL should be in place by the end of 2023.
Gullo, a town and council attorney who assists in locating clients to join a class action lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers, went before the Elkton Mayor and Commissioners in August 2022 to explain the benefits the town may be entitled to for joining an ongoing class-action suit against PFAS manufacturers.
To ensure that Elkton is able to meet any MCL level for PFAS regulations as well as afford treatment and other costs associated with clean drinking water, the Mayor and Commissioners also agreed on Wednesday, Feb. 2 to join the class action lawsuit Gullo introduced them to over the summer.
The litigation is ongoing, with its resolution and how much money Elkton could receive still unknown.
CECIL WHIG CLIP
By Matt Hubbard
