Clean Water — News & Analysis

EPA rolls back first-ever PFAS drinking water standards, leaving 73 million at risk (May 14, 2025)

May 14, 2025 — The Trump EPA announced plans to rescind drinking water standards for four of the six PFAS chemicals regulated under the Biden administration's landmark 2024 rule — the first-ever national drinking water limits for these compounds — while extending by two years, from 2029 to 2031, the compliance deadline for the two remaining standards covering PFOA and PFOS. The rollback covers GenX (HFPO-DA), PFNA, PFHxS, and PFBS, four PFAS chemicals that had been regulated individually and as a hazardous mixture, with the EPA arguing the prior rule had "skipped procedural steps" and was legally vulnerable.

PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are human-made chemicals that do not break down in the environment or the human body, giving rise to the name "forever chemicals." They are found in hundreds of consumer and commercial products, from non-stick cookware to firefighting foam to food packaging. Exposure is linked to kidney and testicular cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproductive harm, low birth weight, and immune system suppression. More than 73 million people are served by water systems that had detected PFAS above the limits the EPA was now seeking to rescind or delay.

Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook said the EPA was "caving to chemical industry lobbyists and water utility pressure — and in doing so it is condemning millions of Americans to drink contaminated water for years to come." Legal experts noted the Safe Drinking Water Act's anti-backsliding provision prohibits the EPA from weakening any drinking water standard once established, making the rollback potentially illegal regardless of the administration's procedural justifications.