Washington, DC – CHIPS Communities United, the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, and nine other community-based organizations sent a letter to the City of Chandler calling for increased monitoring and stricter limits on PFAS to protect public health and downstream communities. The wastewater discharge permit for Intel’s Ocotillo Campus renews every June, but the public has no opportunity to weigh in. The permit allows Intel to release PFAS, also known as toxic “forever chemicals,” into the local sewage, burdening local treatment works and potentially contaminating local waters. Given the size of the Ocotillo Campus (Intel’s largest hub in the United States) and the risks associated with PFAS, the groups urge the City of Chandler to develop a comprehensive plan to identify and manage PFAS discharges from Intel’s Ocotillo campus.
“We call on the City of Chandler to protect the people of Arizona and the state’s waters,” urged Judith Barish, coalition director of CHIPS Communities United. “Water is precious in Arizona, and every drop counts in the 32-year dry spell the state is experiencing. PFAS contamination already threatens the Colorado, Salt, and Verde rivers: we must stop future toxic effluent from the semiconductor industry.”
Semiconductor manufacturing is known to use and discharge the toxic chemical family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Because they break down very slowly, PFAS tend to bioaccumulate in human beings, wildlife, and the environment. PFAS are highly toxic even in minute quantities and cannot be removed by conventional drinking water treatment.
“The current permit does not establish discharge limits for PFAS, nor does it require their destruction,” said Lenny Siegel, Executive Director of the Center for Public Environment Oversight. “It doesn’t even require Intel to monitor the PFAS in its wastewater. It’s irresponsible to allow these toxic chemicals to flow into our aquifers and water supply without any oversight.”
“PFAS is a huge problem in our state,” said Linda Robles, an environmental activist from Tucson. “The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has confirmed there are PFAS in at least 57 public water systems in the state. Intel is required to monitor its wastewater for PFAS in New Mexico and Oregon, but not in Arizona. Why is Intel treating our state differently? And why isn’t the City of Chandler doing something about it?”
Toxic chemicals discharged from Intel are likely to end up in rivers, ground water, drinking water, and farmland. The City of Chandler has an obligation to use its permitting authority to protect surrounding communities and ecosystems.
“We urge the City of Chandler to strengthen PFAS monitoring, treatment, and minimization requirements to protect Arizona’s precious and finite water resources from further contamination,” said Jennifer Martin-McLeod, a water policy expert with the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter. “There is no known safe level of these forever chemicals, and we don’t want them in our water. Decision makers can no longer afford to review these projects one by one. With an industry boom already underway, they must consider the full cumulative impact on our water supply and the public health of communities across Arizona.”
The groups call on the City of Chandler to take the following steps:
- Provide a public comment period and hold a public hearing.
- Require Intel to submit a PFAS Action Plan.
- Update the permit to require, at minimum, that Intel conduct quarterly monitoring for PFAS using EPA Method 1633.
- Update the permit to require additional wastewater monitoring methodologies.
- Require Intel to use destruction technologies to eliminate PFAS at the source.
- Establish a goal of zero discharge of PFAS.
- Require public reporting of monitoring results to ensure transparency and accountability.
For the full list of recommendations submitted by the Arizona AFL-CIO, Bend the Curve, Center for Public Environment Oversight, CHIPS Communities United, Citizens for Smart Growth, Clean Water Action, Organized Power In Numbers, Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, Tonatierra, Tucson’s Environmental Justice Task Force, and UNCAGE, United Chips Against Global Exploitation, click here. # # #
