The Trump EPA wants to rescind limits on four types of PFAS while maintaining standards for the two most common compounds linked to cancer and other diseases.
WASHINGTON โ The Trump administration is pulling back some limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, angering public health advocates who say the move puts millions of Americans at risk.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it will rescind limits in drinking water for four types of PFAS, a family of synthetic chemicals linked to cancer, heart disease and birth defects, and restart the rule-making process for those substances from scratch. The agency said the Biden administration moved too fast and didn’t follow the law when it set those limits.
At the same time, the EPA said it will keep in place the strictest limits for the two most common and widely studied PFAS compounds, known as PFOA and PFOS. It will give water utilities until 2031 to comply, an extra two years.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended the move, saying the Biden administration “cut corners and failed to follow the law” by skipping a required public comment step before finalizing limits on the four compounds now being rescinded.
The proposal comes at a time when the agency is facing scrutiny from the Make America Healthy Again movement on issues like PFAS and pesticides.
The agency said it intends to set new limits for those substances and acknowledged the revised standards could end up stricter than those being rolled back.ย
Critics noted there is no guarantee and that the process could take years. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that tracks chemical contamination, called the action “legally dubious,” pointing out that the Safe Drinking Water Act generally prohibits the government from issuing rules weaker than those already on the books.
โThe Trump EPA is caving to chemical industry lobbyists and water utility pressure โ and in doing so, it is condemning millions of Americans to drink contaminated water for years to come,” Environmental Working Group president and co-founder Ken Cook said in a statement.
The four compounds being rescinded include GenX chemicals, a type of PFAS that contaminated drinking water in North Carolina and prompted widespread alarm when it was discovered in 2017.
Manufactured by companies like Chemours and 3M, PFAS were incredibly useful in many applications -โ among them, helping clothes to withstand rain and ensuring that firefighting foam snuffed out flames. But the chemicals also accumulate in the body. As science advanced in recent years, evidence of harm at far lower levels became clearer.
The agency announced nearly $1 billion in new grants to help states and water systems address PFAS contamination. Officials said they have now made $5 billion available over five years through that grant program.
The proposals will be open for public comment for 60 days, and a public hearing is scheduled for July 7, 2026.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
