Nov. 21, 2018
HARRISBURG—Reps. Tod Stephens (R-Montgomery) and Tom Murt (R-Montgomery/Philadelphia) announced that the Wolf administration will hold a public hearing in Harrisburg to share information about perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and to receive input from representatives of government, industry and advocacy groups.
Those who cannot attend can watch a webcast of the meeting. Webcast information can be found at
dep.pa.gov/pfcs.
The meeting will be held Friday, Nov. 30, at 9 a.m. at the Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St. in Harrisburg.
This will be the first public meeting of the multi-agency PFAS Action Team. The meeting will feature presentations from experts from state governments and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about PFAS contamination and how it is managed. There will also be time for public input.
“I’m glad to see the Commonwealth taking a more active role in understanding any health ramifications for those who experienced long-term exposure to these chemicals,” Stephens said. “I look forward to working together to ensure we do all we can to protect public health.”
“That means sharing the knowledge acquired from experts in as many fields as possible,” Murt said.
For decades, the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station conducted military training exercises using aqueous film-forming foam in firefighter training activities. This foam contained PFAS and contaminated the drinking water supplies in the area. The cost of removing the contaminants has been passed on to ratepayers.
PFAS substances were also commonly used in coating paper and cardboard packaging products, carpets, non-stick pans, and textiles, as well as firefighting foams. These substances have been detected in air, water and soil in and around production manufacturing facilities, and airports and military bases that used firefighting foams.
Stephens and Murt have called on the federal government to take responsibility for removing the substance from water and for setting safer standards for PFAS.
In the 2017-18 term, Stephens introduced
House Bill 2638 to address the ongoing public water and environmental remediation costs, and to foster and promote redevelopment of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station. Murt has introduced House Bill 705 to lower the state standard for PFAS to the nearly undetectable five parts per trillion.
Each bill will be reintroduced in the next session.
Representative Todd Stephens
151st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepToddStephens.com/ Facebook.com/RepToddStephens
Representative Thomas P. Murt
152nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
RepMurt.com /
Facebook.com/RepMurt