The Trump administration has finished drafting two long-awaited proposals to partially rescind and delay the first federal limits for “forever chemicals” in drinking water.
The changes, now under review at the White House, are bound to face legal challenges if finalized because of a strict provision in the Safe Drinking Water Act that bars EPA from weakening existing protections.
As expected, EPA is continuing with a two-pronged approach to amending a Biden administration rule that set strict limits on the chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Specifically, EPA will repeal limits on four PFAS and extend the compliance deadline for the remaining two PFAS — PFOA and PFOS — covered by the current rule, according to descriptions posted Tuesday by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch said the new deadline for water utilities to remove PFOA and PFOS would be 2031, as Administrator Lee Zeldin had previously stated.
