EPA Announces New England Virtual Listening Session on PFAS Strategic Roadmap
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) New England Regional Office is announcing an upcoming virtual listening session for New England communities to learn about and share feedback on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. The virtual listening session will be held on April 11, 2023. Members of the public are invited to attend and to speak.
This engagement session will provide information about EPA’s ongoing work under the PFAS Strategic Roadmap and what it means for New England citizens. The session will provide opportunities for communities to share feedback directly with EPA regional and program leaders to inform the implementation of the actions described in the Strategic Roadmap. This listening session is one of 10 announced by EPA in November 2022 to offer a series of virtual regional community engagement sessions in 2023 across the country. This fulfills a key commitment outlined in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap.
“EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap outlines specific commitments the Agency is taking to address the risks posed by forever chemicals to people’s health,” said EPA Regional Administrator David W. Cash, who is also the co-chair of EPA’s national PFAS Task Force. “This listening session will give New England community members and stakeholders a chance to hear about the progress we are making, and most importantly it will give people an opportunity to give EPA feedback on actions we should take moving forward. EPA is very interested in hearing from all concerned people, including Tribal communities and communities with environmental justice concerns.”
EPA Region 1’s virtual regional community engagement session will be held via Zoom on April 11, 2023, from 6:00 pm-8:00 p.m. EDT. The public can register to participate in the community engagement session.
Background
In October 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap—laying out a whole-of-agency approach to addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The Roadmap sets timelines by which EPA plans to take specific actions and commits to bolder new policies to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable. The actions described in the PFAS Roadmap each represent important and meaningful steps to safeguard communities from PFAS contamination. Cumulatively, these actions will build upon one another and lead to more enduring and protective solutions.
In November 2022, EPA released “A Year of Progress Under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap,” which underscores key actions taken by the agency during the first year of implementing the PFAS Roadmap. EPA continues to implement a whole-of-agency approach, advancing science, and following the law to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable. Concurrently with this one-year progress report, EPA announced that it will hold virtual community engagement events in each EPA Region in 2023, which EPA Region Y is announcing today.
These engagements align with recommendations from the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and EPA’s Roadmap commitment to engage directly with stakeholders. Recognizing the unique and pervasive impacts of PFAS on Tribal communities, EPA is also planning to hold a session specifically designed to hear from our Tribal partners.
More information:
- EPA’s efforts on PFAS
- Register to participate in the April 11 New England Virtual Listening Session on PFAS Strategic Roadmap
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-new-england-virtual-listening-session-pfas-strategic-roadmap
