The Trump administration is poised to announce whether it will weaken or uphold Biden-era rules limiting toxic PFAS in drinking water and holding polluters accountable for cleanup.
Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.
In short:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce this week if it will maintain a Biden-era rule requiring utilities to reduce PFAS in tap water, potentially impacting 100 million people.
- A separate rule, expected to be addressed later this month, could keep polluters financially liable for cleaning up PFAS contamination.
- PFAS, used in products from fast-food wrappers to waterproof gear, linger in the environment and human bodies, with links to cancer, thyroid disease, and fertility issues.
Why this matters:
What’s happening now with PFAS isn’t just a science story — it’s a political one, and it’s moving fast. At the center is a class of chemicals that the federal government has known about for decades but is only now beginning to regulate in a meaningful way. With the EPA preparing to finalize the nation’s first-ever enforceable limits on PFAS in drinking water, the question of enforcement has become a flashpoint. Major chemical companies are lobbying hard behind the scenes, and several states are caught in legal limbo, pushing forward with their own rules while waiting to see what the federal government will actually do. The Trump administration’s next steps could determine not just how aggressively PFAS are addressed, but whether public health policy prioritizes prevention or continues to operate in crisis-response mode.
Read more: Trump administration halts proposed EPA limits on PFAS pollution
