A bill requiring industrial users classified by EPA as major facilities to pretreat PFOS, PFOA, and 1,4-dioxane in wastewater discharges is moving through the Florida Legislature this session. 

Florida law currently requires domestic or industrial wastewater facilities which discharge wastes into waters or which can reasonably be expected to be a source of pollution to obtain permits. Operations that generate industrial wastewater can be authorized to discharge that wastewater either indirectly to publicly owned treatment facilities (requirement industrial pretreatment before doing so) or directly to surface waters after treatment in their own treatment facilities. Ultimately, the entity discharging the treated wastewater must ensure that water quality standards in receiving waters are not violated. Florida currently does not have water quality standards for perfluorooctane sulfonate (“PFOS”) perfluorooctanoic acid (”PFOA”), or 1,4-dioxane, so no industrial wastewater permits or treatment limits issued by the state currently address those substances. Until now, if certain legislation becomes law.

Senate Bill 1692 was reported favorably by the Senate Environmental and Natural Resources Committee on January 23, 2024, with no opposition. The companion House Bill, HB 1665, has not yet been heard in committee. SB 1692 requires the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”) and wastewater facilities to identify industrial users of the facilities that are “probable sources” of PFOS, PFOA, or 1,4-dioxane by July 1, 2025. The bill further requires that identified industrial sources be issued a permit or order to enforce applicable pretreatment standards by July 1, 2027. Additionally, FDEP is required to issue permits to “all industrial users that are major facilities that discharge directly to surface waters” and may further expand application of the program to other wastewater treatment facilities with NPDES permits, meaning that non-industrial point sources or minor facilities may also be impacted. Importantly, the bill would set “interim discharge limits” for these pollutants that are very low.

FDEP is charged with setting water quality standards for all surface waters in the state at levels that are protective of the designated uses for those waters, with the most common uses being fishing, swimming, and recreational uses.  EPA develops effluent limits for industrial categories of sources based on the nature of the discharge and the available control technologies, and FDEP can add additional water quality-based limits as needed in any given case. These discharge limits control the amount of any given pollutant that a source can discharge either indirectly or directly and still enable a waterbody to achieve the water quality standards set for it. 

Circumventing this process, the bill establishes what it terms as “interim discharge limits” in nanograms per liter (parts per trillion or ppt): PFOS at 10 ppt, PFOA at 170 ppt, and 1,4-dioxane at 200,000 ppt. For perspective, one ppt is roughly equivalent to one drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools or one second in 32,000 years. This approach usurps the roles of both FDEP and EPA by setting effluent limits where no water quality standard has been established and eliminates the opportunity for stakeholder involvement in the rulemaking process. 

1,4-Dioxane is a man-made chemical that is used primarily as a solvent. It can also be found in paints, dyes, greases, cosmetics, detergents, shampoos, and in packaging materials. PFAS chemicals, including PFOS and PFOA, have been used widely since the 1940s in consumer, commercial and industrial products, as well as manufacturing and industrial processes, and are considered to be “everywhere” in the environment. PFAS are known as forever chemicals because they do not easily break down, which presents challenges when trying to treat wastewater and other waste streams.

Given the prevalence of these chemicals, the challenges with treating them, and the low discharge limits established, SB 1692 could have a widespread and substantial impact on industrial wastewater dischargers. 

Stearns Weaver Miller is closely monitoring SB 1692 and its potential impact. Please let us know if you have any questions or believe you may be impacted by the bill.