The Drinking Water Quality Council previously spurred outrage from advocates because of missed deadlines. Now it’s sparking controversy because of a proposed deferral system. 

The proposal would allow water providers with high levels ​of PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4 dioxane the ability to request a deferral for up to three years. That means a provider could potentially delay installing treatment technology.

The idea is it could give providers the opportunity to create a better plan as to how to address clean-up. But advocates, especially those from Hoosick Falls, say that’s not good enough.

Besides the delay, they also worry about the amount of public notices. The new rules say people would get updates once a year instead of every three months. 

Those who experienced the water crisis, like Loreen Hackett, say this undoes what they have been trying to do. 

"We know the exposures to in vitro to infants to babies to children is horrific," said Hackett, of Hoosick Falls. "That can cause long-term, life-long, health effects. Whatever delays to report that can not be acceptable."

The quality council is meeting Tuesday and accepting public comment until March 9.

The DOH, in a statement, said:

“New York State is in the final stages of adopting among the most stringent water safety standards in the nation for the emerging contaminants PFOS, PFOA and 1,4-dioxane.

As we’ve said all along, our goal is to work openly and transparently with communities and water system operators to ensure compliance with these strong regulations. To be clear, the option for deferral of enforcement does not nullify notification requirements for exceedances, is not intended to delay testing or treatment, and will not reduce transparency in any way, but rather signals our intent to work with water systems to achieve compliance for these new standards and to keep communities informed throughout the process.

Water Systems will only have 90 days to request a deferral from the effective date of the regulation and requests will be considered for approval on a case-by-case basis for those systems already working towards compliance. Additionally, NYSDOH reserves the right to rescind any deferrals if water systems aren’t making adequate progress.”