HB1501: HB1501 Environmental Protection Division; maintain a public website for monitoring levels of certain contaminants in public water systems

Georgia law currently does not set specific limits or public reporting requirements for PFAS, a group of man-made chemicals sometimes called 'forever chemicals' found in some water supplies. This bill would add a new section to Georgia law setting maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for several PFAS chemicals, including PFOA and PFOS, largely mirroring limits set at four to ten parts per trillion. The Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources would have to build and maintain a public website showing PFAS levels for every public water system in the state, alongside the legal limits, so residents can compare their own system's readings. The division would also review federal EPA standards yearly and report findings to the General Assembly by December 31. If a system's PFAS levels exceed the limits, the division must notify the water utility, which must then mail notice to every affected resident explaining the exceedance and the exact chemical levels found.

• Sets specific maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in Georgia law for six PFAS chemicals or chemical mixtures, ranging from 4.0 to 10.0 parts per trillion.
• Requires the Environmental Protection Division to build a public website listing PFAS levels for every public water system in Georgia, linked from its Drinking Water page.
• Requires the division to review federal EPA PFAS standards annually and report findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by December 31 each year.
• Requires the division to notify a water utility promptly if monitoring shows PFAS in its system exceeding the MCLs.
• Requires water utilities that receive such notice to mail notice to every resident served by the affected system, including a brochure and the exact chemical levels detected.

Georgia residents who get water from public water systems, water utility companies that operate those systems, and the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources, which would build the website, monitor PFAS levels, and issue annual reports to the General Assembly.

Residents would gain a public online tool to check PFAS levels in their own drinking water and would receive direct mailed notice if their water exceeds legal limits, giving them information they currently may not have access to about potential chemical contamination.

• New Code Section 36-60-34(a) defines terms including 'hazard index,' 'maximum contaminant level,' 'PFAS,' and 'public water system.'
• Subsection (b) sets MCLs for PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX chemicals), and a hazard index limit of 1 for mixtures of certain PFAS, and requires an annual EPA comparison report by December 31.
• Subsection (c) requires the division to maintain a public website with PFAS levels for every public water system, MCL comparison charts, and estimated posting dates where data is unavailable.
• Subsection (d) requires the division to promptly notify a water utility if monitoring shows an MCL exceedance in its system.
• Subsections (e) and (f) require the utility to mail notice to all affected residents, including a division-created brochure, confirmation of the exceedance, and the exact PFAS levels detected.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)Primary sponsor
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Long Tran (D, HD-080)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)

• drinking water safety
• PFAS contamination
• water utilities
• environmental regulation
• public health