WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency is asking a federal appeals court to let it drop four vital drinking water standards that apply to the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.
“It took years of hard, bipartisan work to secure these vital protections to finally start turning the tap off with PFAS water contamination. The EPA is now doing the exact opposite – trying to keep the tap running and endangering millions of Americans,” said Melanie Benesh, the Environmental Working Group’s vice president for government affairs.
The four standards, issued in 2024, set first-time limits on the chemicals GenX, PFBS, PFNA and PFHxS. Industry groups and others sued the EPA over those standards in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
They also challenged the agency’s 2024 drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS – two of the most notorious and well-studied PFAS.
PFAS have been detected in the drinking water of 172 million Americans. Even at low levels, the chemicals are linked to health risks such as cancer and reproductive harm.
The Trump administration in August said it would delay compliance with the PFOA and PFOS standards but keep them in place. It also said it planned to scrap the four other standards.
In a Sept. 11 filing, the EPA formally asked the D.C. Circuit to vacate the four standards, claiming they were finalized in a way that falls short of legal requirements.
Court approval of the motion would legally scrap the standards.
In its filing, the agency argues the Safe Drinking Water Act requires it to determine whether to regulate a drinking water contaminant and then seek public comment on the decision before finalizing a new limit based on that determination.
The EPA says the Biden administration did not follow that process, so there’s no legal basis to the four standards.
“The EPA says in its court filing it might still decide to regulate these four PFAS in drinking water. But given the Trump administration’s deregulatory zeal, it’s highly unlikely this EPA has any real interest in doing so,” said Benesh.
“And if it does ultimately decide to regulate these four PFAS, the process will take many months or even years – time when those protections could already have been in place,” she added.
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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
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