PLANS to introduce legal PFAS limits have been put on hold while ministers work with Jersey Water to understand the full impact the legislation would have on the business.

Environment Minister Mary Le Hegarat said that the government “needs to look at what, moving forward, is affordable” and that it had agreed to give the utility firm 18 months to carry out its investigations.

During an Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel hearing, the minister said it would be “inappropriate” to say whether potential PFAS legislation may “take a different route”.

PFAS is the collective name for thousands of man-made carbon chains which were added to items including frying pans and floor tiles, due to their ability to block oil, heat and water.

They have also been dubbed ‘forever chemicals’ due to their inability to break down in the human body, causing them to be linked to several health conditions.

During the previous political term, then-Environment Minister Steve Luce brought forward legislation which, had it been approved, would have set a new legal standard for PFAS levels in mains water. This would have been that the total sum of four types of PFAS does not exceed four nanograms per litre – a target which would have had to be met within five years.

However, before it could be debated, the proposition was called in for scrutiny by Environment, Housing and Infrastructure panel chair Deputy Hilary Jeune. The affect of this was that because the debate would not be completed before the election on 7 June, it was deemed to have been withdrawn.

When asked about the current government position concerning the legislation, Deputy Le Hegarat, who succeeded Mr Luce as Environment Minister said that the new Council of Minister is operating “as it was prior to the elections” regarding the matter.

“We are working closely with Jersey Water, and we have still got a lot of work to do,” she said.

“We need to look at what moving forward is affordable for us. So at this particular stage, as I said, it’s moving as it was prior to the elections. There’s no changes at this particular time.”

Assistant Environment Minister Kirsten Morel added that “we need to understand all of the impacts before bringing the legislation”.

“Otherwise, we could be putting enormous costs on Islanders through their water bills and through their taxes, for absolutely minimal, potentially marginal gains in PFAS cut levels”, said Deputy Morel.

He went on to say that due to these reasons, it is “entirely right” that the government continue to delay the law.

Jersey Water estimated that introducing a new water treatment plant for PFAS, as initially suggested by politicians, could cost up to £210 million.