Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a series of upcoming virtual listening sessions on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Beginning on February 28 and continuing through late April, EPA will be holding a virtual session on the PFAS Strategic Roadmap focused on each EPA Region, as well as a session specifically dedicated to the perspectives of EPA’s Tribal partners. Each 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 Roadmap.

“In EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, we committed to transparent, equitable, and inclusive engagement with all stakeholders to inform the Agency’s work,” said Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator for Water and co-chair of EPA’s Council on PFAS. “By hearing directly from communities, we will better understand how PFAS contamination affects individuals’ lives and livelihoods and can better ensure that communities have equitable access to solutions – especially Tribal communities and communities with environmental justice concerns.”

Each Regional virtual listening session will provide information about EPA’s ongoing work under the PFAS Strategic Roadmap and what it means for each Region or for Tribes. Each session will also provide opportunities for community members to share feedback directly with EPA Regional and PFAS Council leaders to inform the implementation of the actions described in the Roadmap.

To date, EPA has announced dates, times, and registration details for four upcoming sessions, and today is further announcing the date for the Tribal listening session for Thursday, April 6 at 2 pm ET. Additional details on future virtual sessions in other EPA Regions will be announced soon. Further details for these sessions, including opportunities for members of the public to attend and to share feedback, will be available on the Regional PFAS Community Engagement Sessions website.

Learn more about EPA’s efforts under the PFAS Strategic Roadmap.

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 as well as a session designed to hear from EPA’s Tribal partners. These engagements align with recommendations from the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and EPA’s Roadmap commitment to engage directly with stakeholders.

Original source can be found here.