HomeMy WebLinkAbout16.-3 (Handout) AB 2247 PFAS Bill - Central San Support Letter 03-28-22 Item 16.
CENTRALSAN (Handout-3)
CENTRAL
CONTRA •STA SANITARY DISTRICT 5019 IMHOFF
March 28, 2022
The Honorable Bill Quirk, Chair
Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee
Legislative Office Building, Room 171
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: AB 2247 (Bloom): Support
Dear Chairman Quirk:
The Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (Central San) has a support position on AB 2247
(Bloom), which would require manufacturers of PFAS or products containing PFAS to disclose
the presence of PFAS in those products in a publicly accessible database. This is important and
necessary information that will inform state and local decision making regarding the
management of PFAS in our watersheds and the environment. Central San, a wastewater utility,
collects and cleans more than 13 billion gallons of wastewater every year and serves nearly half
a million residents and more than 3,000 businesses in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Within
its 146 square mile service area, Central San operates a 54 million-gallon-per-day capacity
treatment plant, 18 pumping stations, over 1,500 miles of sewer lines, a household hazardous
waste collection facility, a laboratory, and provides both commercial and residential recycled
water programs.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) have recently become a topic of public concern, due
to their high mobility and resistance to breaking down naturally in the environment, as well as
the persistent detection of PFAS compounds in people's bodies. The State is comprehensively
investigating levels of PFAS in our environment, with a particular focus on water and
wastewater resources. While significant progress is being made towards identifying pathways
of PFAS in our water and sewersheds, additional information is needed for agencies to be able
to make efficient management decisions: local water and wastewater agencies need to know
what exactly they are looking for in order to implement effective source reduction policies to
limit PFAS inputs into our systems. AB 2247 would allow us to use the PFAS disclosure data
required from manufacturers of PFAS or products containing PFAS to optimize pollution
prevention programs at the local level through our local pre-treatment programs, and this
information would generate consumer awareness about the chemicals used in everyday
products and how they impact the environment. We need data to support practical and cost-
effective management solutions, and AB 2247 is an important first step towards this end goal.
It's important to note that PFAS chemicals are both ubiquitous and indestructible. Without
better information about sources of PFAS to support source control, local water management
options are limited and costly, leading to affordability concerns for the delivery of essential
public services. In some cases PFAS can be removed from water and wastewater at the end of
the cycle through advanced treatment technology. However, there is no technologically feasible
method for the large-scale destruction of PFAS compounds. Instead, once removed, PFAS
residuals are merely displaced and transferred to another waste stream and typically cycle back
through the waste management process.
For these reasons Central San supports AB 2247 and urges your "aye" vote when it is heard in
the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.
Sincerely,
�11 .. n
Roger S. Bailey
General Manager
CC: Assembly Member Richard Bloom
Jessica Gauger, California Association of Sanitation Agencies
Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
Assembly Member Timothy S. Grayson