Treating Forever Chemicals
From a Community Project Funding request to enactment of an appropriation, ENS guided a clean water district's federal funding and policy strategy on PFAS treatment and removal.
The Problem
A Southern California clean water district manages one of the nation's largest wastewater and biosolids recycling operations. Addressing PFAS was both an environmental protection and public health imperative, and piloting Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) technology at scale required significant capital investment and sustained federal engagement.
What ENS Did
- ✓ Assisted development of the client's Community Project Funding (CPF) application through the FY2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill
- ✓ Advocated for the CPF request directly to Member offices and House and Senate Appropriations Committee staff
- ✓ Obtained Representative Lou Correa's sponsorship of the CPF request
- ✓ Worked with Senate offices to build support for the House CPF submittal
- ✓ Drafted support letters to the California congressional delegation
- ✓ Provided ongoing advocacy on the broader policy need to treat and destroy PFAS in wastewater and biosolids
The Result
The district was awarded $3.45 million in federal funding for the SCWO pilot project through a CPF award in the FY2024 appropriations bill, positioning the client to be among the first utilities in the country to test the technology at meaningful scale.