Rockland County officials, environmental advocates and community leaders gathered in Nyack Tuesday morning to call on Governor Kathy Hochul to sign legislation aimed at maintaining stricter limits on PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” in New York’s drinking water.
The press conference was held at Village of Nyack Memorial Park and included Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson, Assemblymember Patrick Carroll, representatives from Environmental Advocates NY, the Rockland Water Coalition, Riverkeeper and the NAACP.
The legislation, S.3207-B/A.8634-B, passed both chambers of the State Legislature earlier this year. It would require New York to maintain maximum contaminant levels of no more than 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS and 10 parts per trillion for PFNA, PFHxS and GenX chemicals.
Supporters say the measure would ensure state drinking-water protections remain in place regardless of changes to federal regulations. The EPA is currently keeping the federal 4-parts-per-trillion limits for PFOA and PFOS, while proposing additional compliance time for water systems and separately proposing to rescind federal drinking-water limits for several other PFAS compounds.
The issue has particular relevance in Rockland County, where PFAS has previously been detected in drinking-water supplies. New York currently requires public water systems to test for PFOA and PFOS and take action when state maximum contaminant levels are exceeded.
PFAS are a large family of man-made chemicals that have been used in products including nonstick cookware, waterproof materials, food packaging and firefighting foam. They are often called “forever chemicals” because they break down extremely slowly and can persist in the environment for long periods of time.
Davidson and the other officials and advocates at Tuesday’s event urged Hochul to sign the legislation into law, saying maintaining enforceable state standards would provide continued protections for drinking water in Rockland County and across New York.
