In the wake of the 43-day federal government shutdown, the longest in history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resource Defense Council have agreed to postpone the deadline for EPA to release a perchlorate Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) proposal.
The new deadline is January 2, 2026, over a month later than the original deadline of November 21, 2025. Releasing a perchlorate SDWA proposal is a required action from the EPA following a 2020 consent decree in NRDC v. EPA.
The filing that delays this proposal deadline doesn’t alter the May 2027 deadline by which EPA must finalize a perchlorate rule.
Perchlorate is commonly used in solid rocket propellants, munitions, fireworks, and airbag initiators for vehicles, matches, and signal flares. It can occur naturally, particularly in arid regions such as the southwestern United States.
NGWA has a best suggested practice for treating perchlorate in residential well systems. In it, the BSP states “Ingestion of perchlorate affects iodine uptake by the human thyroid and thus thyroidal hormone production,” while adding “public health risk from perchlorate remains controversial.” It has also been reported perchlorate causes cognitive and physical damage to children.