On May 14, 2025, EPA announced plans to retain the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations established during the Biden Administration for PFOA and PFOS with an additional two-years for public water systems to meet the requirements. The EPA announced these drinking water regulations in April 2024 which established a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 4 ppt for both PFOA and PFOS. The MCL established an enforceable standard which public water systems would be required to comply with beginning 2029. Now, EPA has announced its intent to issue a rulemaking proposal to provide a two-year delay in required compliance. Public water systems would then have until 2031 to comply with the 4 ppt PFOA and PFOS drinking water standards.
This initial delay is intended to provide additional compliance time to assist small drinking water systems and those in rural communities in reaching the PFAS drinking water standards. Alongside this compliance delay, EPA announced plans to launch PFAS outreach initiatives aimed at helping public water systems reduce PFAS below the 4 ppt MCL by 2031.
EPA also announced its intent to repeal and reconsider the 10 ppt limits on GenX PFAS (PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA) and the associated hazard index of these GenX PFAS plus PFBS.
The EPA’s drinking water announcement comes on the heels of EPA’s April 28 announcement detailing the agency’s plans to regulate PFAS. For more on the extent of those plans, see our prior alert. This latest announcement emphasizes reducing PFAS while providing sufficient time to implement the necessary requirements. Administrator Zeldin described this approach as both meeting the national drinking water standards while providing “common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance.”
EPA continues to focus on the need for practical solutions, recommending additional PFAS effluent limitations guidelines to reduce upstream PFAS additions that might strain public water systems. These ELGs could have a widespread impact on manufacturers and other sources that discharge PFAS to public water systems.
We continue to monitor these federal and state developments. Please contact your Michael Best attorney to discuss how these PFAS regulations may impact your business.
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