Governor Hochul Signs Emerging Contaminants in Drinking Water Bill into Law

Environmental Advocates Hail New York Law To Require Water Utility Testing for 40 Dangerous Chemicals, Including PFAS

MONITORING OF HARMFUL CHEMICALS TO BEGIN IN 90 DAYS 

ALBANY, N.Y.  December 23, 2021 - New York’s environmental community today praised Governor Kathy Hochul after she signed a new public health law to add forty chemicals to the state’s list of “emerging contaminants” - toxic chemicals for which all water utilities in the state must test - including numerous chemicals in the class known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), as well as heavy metals and chlorinated compounds. 

Under the new law (Ch. 716 Laws of 2021), sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) and Senator James Skoufis (D-Rockland), the NYS Department of Health must add chemicals to this list every three years. While chemicals are on this list, municipal water suppliers must test for them at least every three years and notify customers about the results. Chemicals are removed from the list once the state establishes Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) to control levels in drinking water. This new law builds on the program established in 2017, which first designated PFOS, PFOA, and 1,4-dioxane as emerging contaminants. The state has since established MCLs for these chemicals, but has not added any additional chemicals to the testing list, prompting this legislation.

“Today New York took an important step to identify and protect residents from harmful chemicals in their drinking water supply, and codified the steps the Department of Health must take to continue this vital process,” said Bobbi Wilding, Executive Director of Clean and Healthy New York, the state’s leading environmental health organization. “We applaud Governor Hochul, Senator Skoufis and Assembly Member Gottfried, and both houses of the legislature, for taking this important step. We can’t stop there: we must push for safer solutions to these chemicals in production and use, so that no more communities experience the tragedies that have unfolded in Hoosick Falls, Newburgh and elsewhere across the state.” 

"For too long, families all over this state have gone without even the most basic information about the safety of their drinking water,” said Senator James Skoufis (D-Rockland), sponsor of the legislation. “Every New Yorker deserves access to clean water and an answer to the question at the heart of this new law: what's in my water? I am grateful to Governor Hochul for signing this critical legislation and protecting our communities."

Statewide activists hailed the measure, which will further protect residents from PFAS “forever” chemicals. 

“We cannot protect New Yorkers from the dangerous chemicals of the 21st century by monitoring a list of toxics created in the 20th century,” said Sonal Jessel, co-Leader of the Just Green Partnership, a coalition of about 50 environmental organizations in New York State. “By signing this law, all New Yorkers - regardless of race or income - can now know whether their drinking water is safe.” 

This new law will improve all of the state’s water utility testing programs, and give New Yorkers the information they need about chemicals in their water supplies. 

“Safe drinking water is essential to a strong economy,” said Bob Rossi, Executive Director of the New York Sustainable Business Council (NYSBC). “Especially now as we work to reopen our economy amidst a health crisis, we must heed the growing body of research showing that unregulated chemicals of concern like PFAS can weaken our immune systems and even impede our antibody response to vaccines. The business community applauds Governor Hochul for taking this important step to safeguard our economy by protecting drinking water throughout New York State."

The Act instructs the state Health Department to change its testing protocols to adjust to the sheer number of harmful unregulated chemicals of concern that find their way into our waterways and water treatment plants. The department has until March, 2022 to adopt the new list of contaminants. 

“At last, this long-overdue measure takes the “don’t ask, don’t tell” and “see no evil, speak no evil” element out of our right to know what is in the water we drink,” said Kathleen Curtis, founder of Moms for a Nontoxic New York. “There’s no question that this disclosure and setting of minimum allowable limits will promote less-toxic drinking water for residents of the great state of New York.”

Alok Disa, Senior Research and Policy Analyst for Earthjustice said, “Every New Yorker, regardless of where they live, deserves to know what’s in their water. The stories of Hoosick Falls and Newburgh serve as stark examples that show why early access to information about contamination is so important in preventing needless exposure to toxic chemicals. Thanks to this legislation, all New Yorkers served by public water systems will benefit from testing for dangerous unregulated contaminants, including a full suite of PFAS chemicals. We thank Governor Hochul, Senator Skoufis, Assemblyman Gottfried, and the residents of impacted communities for getting this legislation across the finish line to benefit the health of all New Yorkers.”

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The JustGreen Partnership is a coalition of roughly 50 groups representing more than a million New Yorkers, all working together for environmental health and justice for New York’s people and communities. The Partnership focuses on transforming the policies that govern how chemicals are regulated or marketed in the great State of New York. Through our work, we are building a better movement for health and environmental justice in New York State. Learn more: just-green.org.