By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
City officials in Zeeland are considering adopting a limit on the levels of chemicals known as PFAS that can enter the city’s Clean Water Plant.
Plant Superintendent Doug Engelsman on Sept. 8 presented a proposed ordinance to the City Council that would set a limit on the chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, of 12 parts per trillion, a level consistent with water quality standards set forth by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). It would be the first time the city has set such a limit.
PFAS chemicals have been used in both industrial and consumer products dating as far back as the 1940s. Examples of everyday items containing PFAS include non-stick cookware, water and stain-resistant products such as carpets and upholstery, fast-food wrappers, and fire-extinguishing foam, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“They call this ‘the forever chemical’ for a reason,’” Engelsman said. “We do not treat it. It comes through our transmission system. It sticks. It’s a sticky compound – it sticks to the transmission system. Once it gets there, it goes into our plant and sticks to the plant. It also sticks to the biosolids that goes on farm fields. After that … it goes out to the receiving streams.”
The Clean Water Plant first noticed an industrial source of PFOS entering the city’s wastewater system in 2019, and has since worked with that user on identifying the source of the chemical and instituting treatment measures to reduce how much PFOS was entering the plant. It was then that plant employees identified a gap in the city’s industrial pretreatment program, Englesman told the council.
“While the Clean Water Plant could identify and monitor PFAS sources and work with industrial users to reduce discharges, the city did not have an established numerical local limit that provided a clear and consistently enforceable standard,” Engelsman said.
That led the city to have a PFAS local limits study done. The city contracted with Grand Rapids-based consultant Moore and Bruggink to conduct the study, with the blessing of EGLE.
That study evaluated five different PFAS compounds. Six samples were taken during November and December of last year, four at the Clean Water Plant and two at a location elsewhere in the city, according to Moore and Bruggink’s report.
The study calculated an initial PFOS local limit of 23.1 parts per trillion. Clean Water Plant staff asked EGLE to approve a more protective PFOS limit of 12 parts per trillion, consistent with state standards.
“Because PFAS regulations continue to evolve, source control is the most effective way to address PFAS, and a more protective local limit helps safeguard the city’s wastewater treatment system, biosolids program, receiving waters, and capacity for future growth,” Engelsman said.
“Municipal wastewater treatment plants were not designed to remove PFAS once it enters the sewer system. For that reason, the state of Michigan IPP initiative dictates that controlling PFAS at its industrial source is the City’s most effective means of reducing the amount of PFAS entering the treatment plant and ultimately the environment.”
The Clean Water Plant staff isn’t singling out any individual industry as the source of the problem, Engelsman said.
“Throughout this process, staff’s focus has been on science and on establishing sound public policy, not on any individual industry. The purpose of establishing local limits is to provide a clear, consistent, and enforceable standard that applies fairly to industrial users and protects the city’s wastewater system and receiving waters,” he said.
In addition to establishing the local PFAS limits, the ordinance would equip the Clean Water Plant with additional tools to monitor and manage any industrial discharges that have the potential to contain PFAS. This would include the ability to require sampling and analytical testing before certain discharges occur where there is a strong possibility for an industrial user to exceed the local limits, Engelsman said.
The council took no formal action at the Sept. 8 meeting. It’s expected that after revisions are made the original proposal, the proposed ordinance will come back to council for two readings, with possible adoption after the second reading, Engelsman said.
Zeeland Record
City officials in Zeeland are considering adopting a limit on the levels of chemicals known as PFAS that can enter the city’s Clean Water Plant.
Plant Superintendent Doug Engelsman on Sept. 8 presented a proposed ordinance to the City Council that would set a limit on the chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, of 12 parts per trillion, a level consistent with water quality standards set forth by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). It would be the first time the city has set such a limit.
PFAS chemicals have been used in both industrial and consumer products dating as far back as the 1940s. Examples of everyday items containing PFAS include non-stick cookware, water and stain-resistant products such as carpets and upholstery, fast-food wrappers, and fire-extinguishing foam, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“They call this ‘the forever chemical’ for a reason,’” Engelsman said. “We do not treat it. It comes through our transmission system. It sticks. It’s a sticky compound – it sticks to the transmission system. Once it gets there, it goes into our plant and sticks to the plant. It also sticks to the biosolids that goes on farm fields. After that … it goes out to the receiving streams.”
The Clean Water Plant first noticed an industrial source of PFOS entering the city’s wastewater system in 2019, and has since worked with that user on identifying the source of the chemical and instituting treatment measures to reduce how much PFOS was entering the plant. It was then that plant employees identified a gap in the city’s industrial pretreatment program, Englesman told the council.
“While the Clean Water Plant could identify and monitor PFAS sources and work with industrial users to reduce discharges, the city did not have an established numerical local limit that provided a clear and consistently enforceable standard,” Engelsman said.
That led the city to have a PFAS local limits study done. The city contracted with Grand Rapids-based consultant Moore and Bruggink to conduct the study, with the blessing of EGLE.
That study evaluated five different PFAS compounds. Six samples were taken during November and December of last year, four at the Clean Water Plant and two at a location elsewhere in the city, according to Moore and Bruggink’s report.
The study calculated an initial PFOS local limit of 23.1 parts per trillion. Clean Water Plant staff asked EGLE to approve a more protective PFOS limit of 12 parts per trillion, consistent with state standards.
“Because PFAS regulations continue to evolve, source control is the most effective way to address PFAS, and a more protective local limit helps safeguard the city’s wastewater treatment system, biosolids program, receiving waters, and capacity for future growth,” Engelsman said.
“Municipal wastewater treatment plants were not designed to remove PFAS once it enters the sewer system. For that reason, the state of Michigan IPP initiative dictates that controlling PFAS at its industrial source is the City’s most effective means of reducing the amount of PFAS entering the treatment plant and ultimately the environment.”
The Clean Water Plant staff isn’t singling out any individual industry as the source of the problem, Engelsman said.
“Throughout this process, staff’s focus has been on science and on establishing sound public policy, not on any individual industry. The purpose of establishing local limits is to provide a clear, consistent, and enforceable standard that applies fairly to industrial users and protects the city’s wastewater system and receiving waters,” he said.
In addition to establishing the local PFAS limits, the ordinance would equip the Clean Water Plant with additional tools to monitor and manage any industrial discharges that have the potential to contain PFAS. This would include the ability to require sampling and analytical testing before certain discharges occur where there is a strong possibility for an industrial user to exceed the local limits, Engelsman said.
The council took no formal action at the Sept. 8 meeting. It’s expected that after revisions are made the original proposal, the proposed ordinance will come back to council for two readings, with possible adoption after the second reading, Engelsman said.
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