Trump administration rolls back some PFAS standards in drinking water, delays others

Yahoo

14-05-2025

The Trump administration will move to rescind standards put in place last year to restrict allowable levels of several so-called forever chemicals found in drinking water supplies across the U.S., while giving water systems an additional two years to meet rules enacted at the same time for other toxins of a similar type.
Lee Zeldin, head of Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced the proposed change regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, on May 14. The substances, which may be linked to high blood pressure, some cancers and other illnesses, have been used widely in consumer products, including electronics and cookware, as well as in firefighting foam, and are known to build up in the environment over time.
The state of Michigan has determined the presence of thousands of potentially PFAS-contaminated sites in the state over the last decade and has put in place its own restrictions on contaminant levels in drinking water systems, though those were generally not quite as strict as those finalized in April 2024 by former President Joe Biden's administration.
Zeldin said in a news release on May 14 that he would keep in place the Biden administration's enforceable standards on two types of PFAS −perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS, in drinking water at 4 parts per trillion. But in response to what he said were "significant compliance challenges," he said the EPA would move to extend the deadline for meeting those standards from 2029 to 2031.
'The work to protect Americans from PFAS in drinking water started under the first Trump Administration and will continue under my leadership,' Zeldin said. 'We are on a path to uphold the agency's nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water. At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance."
Zeldin also announced the EPA would go through the normal rulemaking procedure to rescind enforceable standards for four other related PFAS: perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, or PFHxS; perfluorononanoic acid, or PFNA, and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid, or HFPO-DA or GenX chemicals, or any of those three with perfluorobutane sulfonic acid, or PFBS.
The EPA said those were being rescinded "to ensure that the determinations and any resulting drinking water regulation follow the legal process" required by law, though it didn't say if, or how, the Biden administration rules may have skirted the federal Safe Water Drinking Act.
Environmentalists denounced the move, which had been praised as a regulatory step forward in protecting drinking water when it was finalized last year, though water systems raised concerns about the cost and compliance timetable.
'More than 100 million people are drinking water contaminated with 'forever chemicals,' which can cause cancer, harm fetuses and kids and pose other health hazards. But now the administration is going to toss out most of these long-sought protections and allow this contamination to continue unabated all at the behest of the chemical industry and water utilities," said Erik Olson, senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nationwide environmental group.
'With a stroke of the pen, EPA is making a mockery of the Trump administration's promise to deliver clean water for Americans," Olson said.
Contact Todd Spangler: [e-mail]. Follow him on X @tsspangler.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump's EPA rolls back some PFAS standards in drinking water