The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on May 14 it will keep the current National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), which set nationwide limits for these forever chemicals in drinking water.
As part of this action, the EPA announced its intent to extend compliance deadlines for PFOA and PFOS, establish a federal exemption framework, and initiate enhanced outreach to water systems in rural and small communities. Utilities would have an additional two years, until 2031, to reduce PFOA and PFOS below the federal standard.
The EPA stated the action will address compliance challenges it has heard from public water systems, members of Congress, and other stakeholders while supporting actions to protect Americans from certain PFAS in drinking water.
The EPA also announced its intent to rescind the regulations and reconsider the regulatory determinations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture of these three plus PFBS to ensure that the determinations and any resulting drinking water regulation follow the legal process laid out in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. “At the same time, we will work to provide common sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance. This will support water systems across the country, including small systems in rural communities, as they work to address these contaminants.”
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