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3d ago

EPA Proposes Rescinding Limits for Four PFAS in U.S. Drinking Water

Citing procedural errors, the agency is restarting rulemaking while keeping limits for PFOA and PFOS and opening a 60-day public comment period.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin speaks during a roundtable with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on efforts to combat per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at EPA headquarters on May 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
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Overview

  • The EPA announced the proposal Monday to rescind nationwide drinking-water limits for four PFAS chemicals named PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO‑DA (GenX) and PFBS and to re-evaluate them through new rulemaking.
  • The agency will retain enforceable limits for the two best‑known PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, but it is proposing an opt‑in process that could let water systems request extensions to meet those standards until 2031.
  • EPA officials said the move corrects procedural flaws in the Biden‑era 2024 rule, and the proposal opens a 60‑day public comment period with a public hearing scheduled for July.
  • The agency announced roughly $1 billion in grants, drawn from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to help small and disadvantaged communities test for and remove PFAS from drinking water.
  • Critics and legal experts say the rollback risks violating the Safe Drinking Water Act’s anti‑backsliding provisions, will prompt litigation and could leave some communities with higher exposure while reviews and new rulemaking proceed.