On September 9, CGMC and MESERB jointly hosted a webinar to discuss the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) PFAS Monitoring Plan and the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that MPCA sent to Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) across the state. MPCA staff attended the event and answered questions about the monitoring plan and MOU.
MPCA is in the process of revising the MOU based on feedback and will likely send it out for review and execution in the coming weeks. The next steps in the MOU as it stands for WWTPs are to decide whether to sign the MOU and to begin taking inventory of potential PFAS sources by October 15. MPCA will establish monitoring and sampling criteria and finalize sampling guidance by November 1. WWTPs will need to develop and submit a PFAS sampling plan by December 1, 2022.
Daniel Marx advised WWTPs to keep in mind that MPCA has clear statutory authority to mandate PFAS monitoring & sampling at WWTPs and to impose requirements to protect water, air, and soil. If MPCA chose to require monitoring and sampling in an NPDES permit, it would likely require a major modification and an opportunity for public comment. MPCA could also potentially assert Superfund or emergency authority to impose requirements related to PFAS on local governments.
If you were unable to attend or would like rewatch, the presentation slides can be viewed here and the video recording here.
If you have any questions about the event, the PFAS MOU, or anything else, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, MESERB environmental attorney Daniel Marx at dmmarx@flaherty-hood.com, or CGMC environmental attorney/lobbyist Elizabeth Wefel at eawefel@flaherty-hood.com.