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Home My WebLink AboutItem 33 - PFAS Legislation City Manager Office www.santa-ana.org/cm Item # 33 City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report December 21, 2021 TOPIC: PFAS Legislation AGENDA TITLE: Resolution Supporting Federal PFAS Legislation that Protects Ratepayers and Water/Wastewater Agencies RECOMMENDED ACTION Adopt a resolution supporting federal PFAS legislation that protects ratepayers and water/wastewater agencies. DISCUSSION At the November 16, 2021 meeting, Councilmember Mendoza added the following councilmember requested item: Discuss and Consider Directing the City Manager to Direct Staff to Introduce a Resolution Supporting PFAS Legislation that Protects Ratepayers and Water/Wastewater Agencies. There was consensus among members of the City Council to proceed with this item. About PFAS Dating back to the 1940s, Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) have been commonly used to coat carpets, clothes, furniture, food packaging, cookware and other products. These chemicals were popular for their resistance to water, stains and food sticking, which made them particularly useful in cookware. They were also used in fire-fighting foams, cleaning products and industrial uses. PFOA and PFOS are part of a larger group of inorganic chemicals referred to as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Most people have been exposed to PFAS through consumer products, but drinking water can be an additional source of exposure in communities where these chemicals have entered water supplies. How PFAS Gets Into Drinking Water PFAS is common in groundwater in urban and industrial areas like Orange County, where remnant traces from consumer products and factories, military bases and other industrial uses are found. PFAS can its way into rivers, such as the Santa Ana River, which PFAS Legislation December 21, 2021 Page 2 2 3 5 1 replenishes much of Orange County’s groundwater that may be used for water supplies or for private drinking water wells. Testing of Santa Ana River surface water in Orange County has detected PFAS. These results can partially be explained by the presence of PFAS in upstream treated wastewater discharges from sewage treatment facilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. PFAS ends up in wastewater by rinsing products containing the chemicals, which go down the drain and into waste treatment plants. While these are locations that can introduce PFAS into the water system, it is important to remember that people can also be exposed to PFAS through food, food packaging, consumer products, and house dust. In the 2000s, manufacturers began voluntarily phasing out use of PFOA and PFOS under a federal Environmental Protection Agency program. Although most PFAS chemicals are no longer manufactured in the United States, they still are produced in other countries and products that contain them may be imported, such as carpets, leather and apparel, textiles, paper and packaging, coatings, rubber, and plastics. Current scientific research suggests that exposure to high levels of PFAS may lead to adverse health outcomes. However, research is still ongoing to determine how PFAS exposure can lead to a variety of health effects. Research is also underway to better understand the health effects associated with low levels of exposure to PFAS over long periods of time, especially in children. More information about the effects of PFAS are available on the Environmental Protection Agency's website: www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained. Resolution Supporting Federal PFAS Legislation that Protects Ratepayers and Water/Wastewater Agencies Attached for consideration by the City Council is a resolution (Exhibit 1) that supports the principles that public health benefits of new drinking water standards are reasonably balanced with the compliance costs that water system ratepayers will ultimately incur. Further, this resolution calls upon the Orange County delegation to support this and related policy positions to protect ratepayers and water/wastewater agencies. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT There is no environmental impact associated with this action. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. EXHIBIT(S) 1. Resolution PFAS Legislation December 21, 2021 Page 3 2 3 5 1 Submitted By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager Resolution No. 2021-XXX Page 1 of 3 RESOLUTION NO. 2021-XXX A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA SUPPORTING FEDERAL PFAS LEGISLATION THAT PROTECTS RATEPAYERS AND WASTE/WASTEWATER AGENCIES WHEREAS, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (“PFAS”) are a group of man- made chemicals created by chemical manufacturers and despite playing no role in releasing PFAS into the environment, cities and water agencies must find ways to remove them from local water supplies; and WHEREAS, PFAS have been detected in the Orange County Groundwater Basin, managed by Orange County Water District, and are estimated to cost Orange County more than $1 billion, over 30 years—a cost that will likely increase; and WHEREAS, ratepayers are at risk from pending PFAS legislation and associated PFAS costs, and water agencies and stakeholders must take action to inform members of Congress of these devastating impacts; and WHEREAS, all PFAS related legislation must therefore exempt water and wastewater agencies from any liability for PFAS cleanup costs; and WHEREAS, a water utility that complies with applicable and appropriate federal management and treatment standards must not be responsible for current and future costs associated with a PFAS cleanup; and WHEREAS, given the potential for federal legislation, such as the PFAS Action Act of 2021 (H.R. 2467), to expose water agencies that simply receive and treat water supplies, with across-the-board liability for PFAS-related cleanups when they have no responsibility for the presence of PFAS, an explicit exemption from Superfund clean-up liability must be made for water and wastewater agencies; and WHEREAS, under existing law, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ensures that public health benefits of new drinking water standards are reasonably balanced with the compliance costs that water system ratepayers will ultimately incur, and eliminating this analysis would burden ratepayers of all income levels with astronomical costs to comply with drinking water standards; and WHEREAS, amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act should not delete the longstanding cost-benefit analysis; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Water District supports providing direct grant funding for PFAS remediation to water and wastewater agencies as provided in the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684). Resolution No. 2021-XXX Page 2 of 3 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana as follows: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby supports these federal PFAS policy principles to protect water/wastewater agencies and their ratepayers. Section 2. The Orange County Congressional Delegation and California Senatorial Delegation are called upon to cast votes implementing these public policy positions. Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the Clerk of the Council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution. ADOPTED this _____ day of ____________, 2021. ________________________________ Vicente Sarmiento Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney By: John M. Funk Sr. Assistant City Attorney AYES: Councilmembers NOES: Councilmembers ABSTAIN: Councilmembers NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers _ Resolution No. 2021-XXX Page 3 of 3 CERTIFICATION OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, DAISY GOMEZ, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached Resolution No. 2021-XXX to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on _______________. Date: ______________________ ________________________________ Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana