WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration will soon propose loosening Biden-era limits on “permanent chemicals” in drinking water, deferring stricter standards for two common types and eliminating limits on some rarer forms, according to Environmental Protection Agency officials.
The proposal begins the first-ever formal process to roll back parts. Restrictions on PFAS in drinking water It was finalized during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Authorities at the time found they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and low birth weight babies.
Jessica Cramer, director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, said Thursday at a conference in Washington, D.C., that the agency intends to rescind and reconsider certain restrictions that the Biden administration says were improperly issued. movement That would be consistent with measures the EPA said a year ago. They were going to take it.
This proposal is made when the agency is in the following situations: Facing intense scrutiny from ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Campaigning on issues like PFAS and pesticides. The group is partly responsible for opposing corporate environmental damage and has been championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Details of the plan have not yet been released, but officials previously said they would propose lifting restrictions on three types of PFAS, including so-called PFAS. GenX material discovered in North Carolina. Then they revisit them. They plan to do something similar by restricting mixtures of several PFAS.
“We need drinking water regulations that are legally defensible. We need drinking water regulations that are less susceptible to legal challenges because the explicit process of the Safe Drinking Water Act was not followed. So that’s a big concern,” Kramer said at a conference focused on ensuring everyone has access to safe drinking water and wastewater.
She said the goal is to start the process over again and follow the law. The Biden administration faced allegations that it moved too quickly and did not follow the correct legal process on restrictions on less common types of PFAS, which the agency has proposed lifting.
The agency said it is committed to helping utilities reduce PFAS in drinking water. The agency is providing technical assistance, and billions of dollars in additional funding are now available to help introduce and implement the expensive and sometimes complex processes needed to remove chemicals.
The Biden administration’s rules also set tough standards of 4 parts per trillion for two common types of PFAS, called PFOA and PFOS. The EPA said it intends to maintain those standards, but will give utilities an additional two years until 2031.
When EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin first announced the move last year, he said delaying the deadline was a “common sense flexibility.”
“This will help water systems across the country, including small systems in rural areas, address these contaminants,” he said at the time.
Regarding drinking water in general, the Trump administration said it will defend strict standards to reduce lead in tap water. it is in contrast to them Efforts to reduce health protection for coal and other polluting energy sources.
“They may have added a wrecking ball to the rules, but this is a little more surgical and deliberate because of the resonance of these issues with voters,” said Melanie Benesch, vice president of government affairs at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
The nonprofit says forcing utilities to treat several types of PFAS will ensure that other potentially harmful substances can also be filtered from water.
Benes also said the measure was likely illegal. The Safe Drinking Water Act, which gives the EPA authority to regulate contaminants in drinking water, prevents the agency from enacting weaker regulations than those previously in place.
The public will have an opportunity to comment before the changes are finalized.
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