A former chemical industry lawyer now serving in a senior U.S. Environmental Protection Agency role has moved to undo a Biden-era rule that would hold polluters financially accountable for toxic PFAS contamination, internal documents show.
Hiroko Tabuchi reports for The New York Times.
In short:
- Steven Cook, a senior EPA official and former industry attorney, proposed repealing a rule he once opposed in court that designates certain PFAS as hazardous, potentially sparing chemical companies billions in cleanup costs.
- Internal agency documents reveal that Cook's recommendation came shortly after meetings with industry groups challenging the rule, prompting a reversal in EPA staff guidance from supporting the regulation to advising its repeal.
- Critics say Cook's role represents a conflict of interest and part of a broader rollback effort by the Trump administration to weaken environmental protections in favor of industry.
Key quote:
“If they overturn this, it would leave the public responsible for cleaning up, not the companies that knowingly polluted the land.”
— Tracey Woodruff, researcher at the University of California San Francisco
Why this matters:
PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” are found in everything from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam and have contaminated drinking water in communities across the country. Linked to serious health risks like cancer and low birth rates, PFAS compounds are persistent and accumulate in the human body and environment over time. The EPA has said that almost no level of exposure is safe, and government data suggests these chemicals are present in nearly half of all U.S. tap water. Reversing a rule that forces companies to pay for PFAS cleanups could leave taxpayers footing the bill for pollution caused by industry, while contaminated sites continue to threaten public health, especially in already vulnerable communities.
Read more: Millions more Americans now exposed to toxic PFAS in tap water, new EPA data shows
