Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $19 Million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding to Address Emerging Contaminants like PFAS in Drinking Water in Connecticut

February 13, 2023

BOSTON (February 13, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $18,914,000 from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address emerging contaminants, like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in drinking water in Connecticut. This investment, which is allocated to states and territories, will be made available to communities as grants through EPA's Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program and will promote access to safe and clean water in small, rural, and disadvantaged communities while supporting local economies.

"Too many American communities, especially those that are small, rural, or underserved, are suffering from exposure to PFAS and other harmful contaminants in their drinking water," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. "Thanks to President Biden's leadership, we are investing in America and providing billions of dollars to strengthen our nation's water infrastructure while safeguarding people's health and boosting local economies. These grants build on EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap and will help protect our smallest and most vulnerable communities from these persistent and dangerous chemicals."

"Today's grant announcement is one significant step in EPA's comprehensive PFAS Roadmap to support our state partners as we aggressively tackle PFAS in drinking water, protect public health, and provide critical information quickly and transparently," said EPA New England Regional Administrator and Co-Chair of EPA's Council on PFAS David W. Cash. "This funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will target resources to small or disadvantaged communities most in need of assistance and will speed up our important work reducing PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water, especially in communities that are challenged by lack of capacity and funding."

"This $18 million for Connecticut is an important investment to safeguard public health. PFAS is in our cooking utensils, furniture, cosmetics and most dangerously — in our drinking water. This funding will help improve access to clean water in communities across Connecticut and I applaud President Biden and the EPA for making this much needed investment to combat PFAS pollution," said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.

"The Bipartisan Infrastructure law is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure and communities," said U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro. "This legislation's $5 billion investment over the next five years builds on clean water resources and delivers impact for water, wastewater, water reuse, conveyance, and water storage infrastructure. Every family in Connecticut deserves access to clean drinking water — with the help of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are now leveraging every tool to address emerging contaminants like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in drinking water and provide families the highest water quality."

"After 50,000 gallons of PFAS foam spilled into the Farmington River in Windsor in 2019, we know all too well the hazards these chemicals pose to our communities and the need for action," said U.S. Representative John B. Larson. "I have been focused in Congress on efforts to protect our water supplies from PFAS and ensure polluters are held accountable. I am thrilled to announce this landmark investment in safe drinking water that will expand our state's water treatment and quality testing efforts in the communities impacted the most by contamination."

"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is increasing economic opportunity all throughout eastern Connecticut, and it's also making long-overdue investments to make families, workers, and our environment healthier and more vibrant for generations to come," said U.S. Representative Joe Courtney. "Thanks to the historic investments made under the IIJA, Connecticut is now set to receive $18 million so that we can turbocharge efforts to remove contaminates like PFAS and other harmful chemicals from our waterways and our drinking water systems. The City of New London has already begun using federal dollars to start replacing old lead waterlines, and this funding is going to help bolster those efforts and expand them to other communities in our region. Every town and every family in eastern Connecticut deserves access to safe, healthy drinking water, and that's what this new federal investment is going to help provide."

"Unsafe and harmful chemicals have no place in our drinking water. I'm glad to see funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be made available for our communities to specifically target these dangerous substances and invest in the long-term health of our communities. Updating our infrastructure for the 21^st century means ensuring every American is connected to clean, safe drinking water," said U.S. Representative Jim Himes.

"Clean drinking water promotes better health outcomes for children and families. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides historic funding to fortify water systems and uplift communities that have long been forgotten. The EC-SDC Grant Program assists areas struggling with resources to tackle dangerous chemicals like PFAS and improve public health. Leveraging this federal funding will expand access to safe, clean water and advance environmental justice across Connecticut," said U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes.

"The availability of these funds from the EC-SDC Grant Program could not come at a better time especially with the Connecticut Department of Public Health's recent update of its drinking water action levels for PFAS," said Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD. "The EC-SDC Grant Program will help protect Connecticut residents, including disadvantaged communities, from the adverse health effects due to PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water."

"CT DEEP greatly appreciates these emerging contaminants grants made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law," Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes said. "These funds are well-timed, and will contribute significantly to the continued implementation of Connecticut's PFAS Action Plan."

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $5 billion over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water. EPA announced the funds for Connecticut as part of an allotment of $2 billion to states and territories that can be used to prioritize infrastructure and source water treatment for pollutants, like PFAS and other emerging contaminants, and to conduct water quality testing.

EPA is also releasing the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant Implementation document. The implementation document provides states and communities with the information necessary to use this funding to address local water quality and public health challenges. These grants will enable communities to improve local water infrastructure and reduce emerging contaminants in drinking water by implementing solutions such as installing necessary treatment solutions.

Today's actions represent a significant milestone within the Biden-Harris Administration's commitments to combat PFAS pollution and safeguard drinking water, and specifically EPA's October 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Under the Roadmap, EPA is working across the agency to protect the public from the health impacts of PFAS. EPA has taken a number of actions to deliver progress on PFAS including:

• Proposing to designate two PFAS as CERCLA hazardous substances. If finalized, this will be a critical step toward increasing transparency around releases of PFAS and holding polluters accountable for cleaning up their contamination.
• Releasing drinking water health advisories. Acting in accordance with EPA's mission to protect public health and keep communities and public health authorities informed when new science becomes available, the Agency issued drinking water health advisories for four PFAS.
• Laying the foundation to enhance data on PFAS. This included an order under EPA's National PFAS Testing Strategy requiring companies to conduct PFAS testing, and nationwide sampling through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule for 29 PFAS in public drinking water systems.
• Expanding the scientific understanding of PFAS. The Agency issued more than 30 scientific publications by EPA researchers and released EPA's PFAS Thermal Treatment Database.
• Translating the latest science into EPA's cross-agency PFAS efforts. This included updating EPA's contaminated site cleanup tables, developing new PFAS methods and conducting toxicity assessments, and issuing draft national recommended water quality criteria to protect aquatic life.
• Continuing engagement with the public. EPA's PFAS work was informed by public webinars, stakeholder meetings, Congressional testimony, and engagement with EPA's federal advisory committees.

In addition to this new grant, EPA is also working to propose a PFAS NPDWR in the coming weeks. The draft proposed rule is currently undergoing interagency review and EPA will issue the proposed rule for public comment when it clears the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The agency anticipates finalizing the rule by the end of 2023. Together, with today's announcement, these actions highlight EPA's commitments outlined in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of PFAS. They also illustrate the benefits of investing in water—protecting public health and the environment, addressing key challenges facing communities, and creating jobs.