PFAS

The Living Lands and Waters' Mississippi River Institute floating classroom will be in the St. Louis region until the fall to educate young people and host meetings related to the river.

The new standards apply to approximately 220 chemical plants in the United States — including two in the Metro East.

Biosolids — a type of treated sewage byproduct from wastewater treatment plants — are used as a nutrient-rich fertilizer on farms across the Midwest. But a group of toxic “forever chemicals” are slipping through the cracks and could be inadvertently contaminating millions of acres of farmland.

As the EPA gets close to finalizing rules related to PFAS, some providers in Missouri could be forced to clean up their drinking water.

St. Louis’ water has been tested for toxic chemicals by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources over the past decade and found to be safe. But the new EPA rules would set higher safety standards, and St. Louis will be retested.

Lawmakers and environmental advocates raised concerns about the potential for PFAS chemicals to be burned in the Metro East.

A nearly identical bill unanimously passed the Illinois House and Senate last year, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker vetoed it. Now environmental groups are starting the whole process over.

It could soon be illegal for Illinois companies to incinerate a class of potentially cancer-causing substances known as “forever chemicals” because they accumulate in the body and environment without breaking down.

The bill by Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, advanced on Wednesday, and would prohibit disposing of any PFAS through burning.

The Veolia incinerator is listed as one of eight sites authorized by the Department of Defense to dispose of PFAS firefighting foam. The United Congregations of Metro East, the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations are suing the Department of Defense to block the potential disposal pending an environmental review.