North Dakota State University awarded almost $25K to address PFAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted $24,982 to a team of students at North Dakota State University’s Main Campus in Fargo, North Dakota, for their proposed PFAS removal project.

As part of EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Program, the award will provide funding for the project through July 31, 2024. The students will develop a process to help remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from landfill leachate. The proposed project aims to improve water quality in North Dakota and includes a plan to educate young people about water pollution.

RELATED: Michigan landfill expansion makes room for leachate pretreatment facility

“PFAS are known as forever chemicals because they’re nearly indestructible, and they have dangerous effects on human health and the environment,” says KC Becker, EPA Regional Administrator. “Congratulations to these [North Dakota State University] students, whose proposal uses imagination and science to develop an innovative solution to this water-quality challenge.”

This award is part of $523,796 in funding that the EPA granted to 21 student teams across the country. The EPA announced the winners as Phase I of the 19th Annual P3 awards. All Phase I recipients will be eligible to compete for a Phase II grant of up to $100,000 to further implement their designs.