EPA Seeks to Gut PFAS Protections, Leaving Millions Exposed to Toxic Forever Chemicals in Tap Water

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed to eliminate key current standards set to protect people from unsafe levels of PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water, reversing legal protections adopted in 2024. Additionally, the EPA has reversed course and stopped defending the standards in a federal lawsuit filed by industry seeking to eliminate them.

The EPA has sought to obscure the impact of the rollback of the PFAS health standards by creating a “PFAS Out” program, but this is a PR stunt. The EPA’s proposals to roll back protections from forever chemicals pose a threat to the health of up to 105 million people across the nation whose water has been contaminated by PFAS.

“Every family should be able to turn on their kitchen tap and feel confident that their water is safe, but today’s proposals would blow a big hole in protections from forever chemicals in our drinking water.  This is a clear cave-in to special interests like the petrochemical industry and water utilities that care more about their bottom lines than the health of Americans,” said Erik D. Olson, Senior Strategic Director for Health at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).

The proposed new rules would eliminate four key health standards, and delay by years two other standards. In one of the two rules proposed today, the EPA said it plans to kill its determinations to regulate and set enforceable standards for four PFAS chemicals: GenX, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFBS. In the second rule, the EPA proposed to allow water utilities to opt-in to an extension of the compliance deadline for PFOA and PFOS standards by two years from 2029 to 2031. Based upon EPA data, NRDC has published a map showing PFAS contamination affects every state and at least 80 percent of Congressional Districts.

In place of those standards, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and HHS Secretary Kennedy tried to distract with a technology showcase and by emphasizing the meaningless PFAS OUT program; as EPA’s website admits, “PFAS OUT does not offer any direct funding or technical assistance.” And $9 billion in federal funding for PFAS removal from drinking water systems expires in September of this year, and this administration has proposed further cuts to drinking water infrastructure. 

“Zeldin and Kennedy are trying to sell potions out of the back of a covered wagon. The millions of Americans demanding safe drinking water are not going to fall for their hocus pocus,” said Dr. Anna Reade, Director of PFAS Advocacy at NRDC. "By repealing and delaying PFAS standards, EPA is abandoning communities in desperate need of drinking water protections, especially those who live near polluting industries.”

The Safe Drinking Water Act has a strong anti-backsliding provision that prohibits the EPA from weakening any drinking water standard once it is set. In addition, the law allows a maximum of five years for water systems to comply with drinking water standards, which EPA already provided in its 2024 rule that requires compliance by 2029. Thus, EPA’s proposals to revoke four forever chemical standards and to allow water systems to opt-in to extensions of this five-year deadline by two years for PFOA and PFOS not only pose a threat to public health, they also violate the letter and intent of the law.

The 2024 PFAS drinking water rule establishing standards for six forever chemicals is currently in litigation. NRDC and community groups represented by Earthjustice have intervened to defend the nation’s first-ever drinking water standards for PFAS in a case brought by chemical companies and water utility associations, who are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the standards.  

In a preliminary ruling, the court refused requests from EPA and the chemical and water utility industry trade associations to “vacate” the four standards EPA proposes today to repeal, instead waiting to evaluate all of the attacks on the 2024 rule together. An oral argument before the court is expected later this year. A decision in that case generally would be expected six to 12 months after the argument.

Background

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals that are widely used in an array of consumer, commercial, and industrial products due to their ability to withstand heat and repel water and stains. Also known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are extremely persistent in the environment and can accumulate in humans or animals. PFAS exposure is linked to many negative health effects at extremely low levels of exposure, including but not limited to kidney and testicular cancer, liver and kidney damage, changes in hormone and lipid levels, and harm to the nervous and reproductive systems.  

After decades of advocacy on the part of environmental and public health advocates, in April 2024, the EPA concluded there is no safe level of PFOA or PFOS exposure, and its final rule covered six PFAS chemicals in total and set individual limits for five PFAS chemicals and a limit on mixtures of four PFAS chemicals. The rule also requires water systems to monitor for the six regulated PFAS chemicals and publicly communicate their compliance with the new limits, while giving them the law’s maximum compliance time of five years to comply by April 2029. The rule was a long overdue step to address a public health crisis that threatens millions of people nationwide.

 NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).