On 23 September 2022, the Australian and New Zealand Heads of Environment Protection Authorities released the draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 for public consultation with submissions due by 4pm on 20 December 2022.
Snapshot
- The draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 builds on PFAS NEMP 2.0 and provides new and updated guidance across six key underlying priority areas – the PFAS family, environmental data and monitoring, water, including beneficial reuse of biosolids, soil, resource recovery products and waste and site-specific guidance, including in relation to approaches to remediation.
- The ecological water quality guideline values which were expected to be revised as a result of the work undertaken nationally to better understand the impacts of PFAS compounds since the release of PFAS NEMP 2.0, have remained the same.
Key changes
While PFAS NEMP 3.0 makes various amendments to PFAS NEMP 2.0, the most significant relate to: PFAS monitoring; PFAS environmental guideline values; On-site stockpiling, storage and containment; Reuse of PFAS-contaminated materials including soils and water; PFAS Remediation and Management; PFAS disposal to landfill; PFAS in the wastewater treatment system; PFAS sampling; and PFAS analysis.
PFAS Monitoring
Additional environmental monitoring parameters are
recommended for ambient monitoring plans, such as point sources.
Further, a consistent but adaptable approach used in setting land
use categories in ambient programs to enable PFAS concentrations to
be compared across land use and jurisdictions and provides multiple
case studies on ambient environmental monitoring.
PFAS environmental guideline values
Specific reference is made to the National Environment
Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure, the National
Water Quality Management Strategy (Australian Government 2018)
(including the Water Quality Guidelines) as relevant guidance to
inform the selection of guideline values.
Further, amendments have been made to the ecological guideline values for soil and biota values with sediment quality guidance introduced and relevant considerations for bioaccumulation clarified.
Information on alternative approaches to the risk assessment and environmental management of PFAS Compounds and Mixtures has also been included.
On-site stockpiling, storage and containment
The capacity of containment bunding is prescribed unless
otherwise required by the relevant regulators for PFAS-contaminated
material storage.
Reuse of PFAS-contaminated materials including soils and
water
Guidance on organic waste and resource recovery materials
has been introduced, particularly in relation to PFAS occurrence in
organic waste materials and the management of risks associated with
PFAS in resource recovery products. The draft also includes a
hierarchy of levels of assessment required for specific organic
waste types with respect to potential PFAS content.
Additional guidance is provided on the management of PFAS-contaminated construction water.
PFAS Remediation and Management
PFAS Version 3.0 reformulates PFAS Remediation and
Management considering the context of Australia's international
obligations, Australian jurisdictional requirements, the site
remediation triggers, considerations in setting remediation goals
and objectives, the selection of remediation strategies and
options, preferred remediation hierarchy and treatment options and
establishing remediation success and long-term management
strategies.
PFAS disposal to landfill
Additional guidance has been incorporated on relevant
considerations when monitoring disposal to landfill.
PFAS in the wastewater treatment system
PFAS NEMP 3.0 introduces a PFAS criteria for biosolids. It
includes information regarding the characterization of biosolids,
details on proposed land application and characterization of
in-situ soils and the relevant criteria and maximum allowable soil
contaminant concentrations, among others.
PFAS sampling
General guidance on sampling environmental media and
materials has been introduced, providing reference to relevant NEMP
sections and establishes specific assessment criteria for assessing
PFAS leachability.
PFAS analysis
Guidance on the analysis of PFAS in solid organic waste
and resource recovery materials, including information on quality
control and quality assurance, interferences and the measurement of
'total PFAS' in solid organic wastes has been
clarified.
Next Steps
Submissions close at 4pm on 20 December
2022 and can be submitted here – National Environmental Management Plan on PFAS |
Have Your Say – Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
By Madeline Simpson, Special Counsel and Charlotte Traves, Paralegal.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.