The US Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday proposals to rescind its 2024 decision to regulate four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and to extend the deadline for drinking-water systems to comply with limits for two other PFAS.
The first proposal would repeal national drinking-water limits for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, known as GenX), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS).
The EPA says in a news release that when the Joe Biden administration issued regulations for the chemicals in 2024, it combined multiple steps in the regulatory process, thus “denying the public a chance to weigh in on” key aspects of the rulemaking process.
The agency is “fixing that error with standards water systems can actually implement and that will hold up to scrutiny,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin says in the news release.
The PFAS limits finalized in 2024 are being challenged in court by water utilities and other stakeholders.
The proposed rule requests comment “on whether the previous regulation did not adhere to the procedural and substantive requirements the [Safe Drinking Water Act] imposes, leaving it legally vulnerable and creating implementation uncertainty for water systems,” EPA’s release continues.
If the proposed rule is finalized, the EPA says, it will then evaluate the four PFAS for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. “While EPA cannot pre-determine the outcome of the rulemaking, it is possible that the result could be more stringent requirements addressing these PFAS in drinking water,” the agency says.
The second proposed rule announced on Monday would allow drinking-water systems to apply for an additional 2 years—until 2031—to come into compliance with enforceable limits for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water. Systems that do not apply for and receive such an extension “would remain subject to the original 2029 compliance deadline,” the EPA notes.
The agency plans to publish notices of both its proposal to rescind its decision to regulate the four PFAS substances and its proposed compliance deadline extension for PFOA and PFOS in the May 20 Federal Register.
An array of environmental and public health groups quickly criticized the EPA’s actions.
“The EPA is proposing to walk back the one key step it has taken toward protecting our drinking water from the toxic scourge PFAS,” John Rumpler, clean water director for the Environment America Research and Policy Center, says in a news release.
“In anticipation of Monday’s proposed rollback, more than a dozen states have codified at least some PFAS drinking water limits of their own. Increasingly, state lawmakers are also willing to address the root of the problem by considering strict limits on the use of PFAS,” the release says.
The EPA’s “actions will delay—or eliminate entirely—critical drinking water protections for up to 105 million people nationwide whose drinking water providers have detected PFAS above the levels the 2024 standards allow,” Earthjustice, a nonprofit public-interest environmental law organization, says in a news release.
The “proposal also does not explain how delaying and eliminating federal restrictions on PFAS in drinking water squares with the agency’s recent announcement that reducing PFAS risks to public health is one of the agency’s top two priorities for the coming year,” Earthjustice’s release continues.
PFAS “can persist in our bodies and the environment for decades and cause serious health effects, including impaired fetal development, cancer and immune system suppression,” Earthjustice notes.
Industry groups, including the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), say they welcome the EPA’s actions.
“EPA’s new proposals will provide an opportunity for meaningful public input and ultimately lead to more scientifically robust drinking water standards,” AWWA CEO David LaFrance and AMWA CEO Tom Dobbins say in a joint news release.
“Providing adequate time to research options, select the best approach based on local circumstances, and implement necessary infrastructure and equipment upgrades is the right path to long-term success,” the release adds.
Both EPA proposals will have a 60-day public comment period once they are published in the Federal Register, as well as a virtual public hearing on July 7.
The EPA, along with the Department of Health and Human Services, also announced on Monday nearly $1 billion in grant funding for states to tackle PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water.
