In March 2022 the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) released a PFAS Monitoring Plan. This is part of ongoing work to investigate PFAS discharges, to understand “the wide range of places where PFAS have been or are currently used and how these uses result in PFAS releases to the environment”, as stated by MPCA. The monitoring plan will provide the initial understanding of PFAS presence and identify scenarios where immediate measures to protect human health and the environment are necessary.
The goals of the monitoring plan are to:
- Gather Minnesota-specific information in order to craft effective policies around PFAS and their incorporation into MPCA programs;
- Identify areas of particular concern (due to PFAS concentrations or routes of exposure) that need quick action; and
- Gather data that galvanizes support for PFAS source reduction and pollution prevention.
MPCA selected 137 manufacturing and industrial facilities to be subject to this PFAS monitoring plan. These facilities were chosen based on the likelihood of releasing PFAS to the environment, whether as a direct source of PFAS or a conduit of PFAS from other sources (e.g., waste management, recycling, or treatment facilities).
In addition, MPCA also selected 8 regional airports, 143 landfills and solid waste facilities, and 91 municipal wastewater treatment plants.
The targeted facilities are identified here:
Monitoring data collected from these facilities will be used to create policies that prevent, manage, and cleanup PFAS. For industrial facilities, the PFAS monitoring will be used to identify scenarios where use of PFAS can be reduced or eliminated. For conduits of PFAS like landfills, wastewater treatment plants, waste-to-energy facilities, and auto shredders, the monitoring data will be used to identify upstream PFAS sources so those sources can be targeted for reduction.
The PFAS Monitoring Plan is divided into the following programs:
- Air Program Plan
- Wastewater Program Plan
- Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste Program Plan
- Industrial Stormwater Program Plan
- Remediation Program Plan
Stay tuned for more information on PFAS updates. Click here to read past articles from Braun Intertec on PFAS regulation and contact us if you have any questions about how this affects your operations.
