The Environmental Protection Agency will issue two new rules aimed at delaying and rescinding maximum contaminant levels in drinking water. The first one will repeal 2024 regulations that set nationwide limits on four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – GenX, PFNA, PFBS, and PFHxS. The EPA announced it will additionally restart a lengthy process to establish whether regulation of these substances is required, and if so, how to regulate them.
The second proposal would retain limits on two PFAS known as PFOA and PFOS, but extend the deadline for water utilities to comply with the regulations from 2029 to 2031. The Biden administration had limited levels of these two substances in drinking water to four parts per trillion, the lowest detectable level, citing scientific findings revealing that there is “no level of exposure to these contaminants without risk of health impacts, including certain cancers.”
The new proposals directly contradict the EPA’s April 2026 announcement that named reducing PFAS risks to the public as a top two-year priority alongside “advancing investment into America and job creation through permitting reform.”
It is not surprising that environmental advocacy groups critical of current EPA policies were quick to challenge the EPA’s May announcement.
Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit international environmental advocacy group, said the proposal would “blow a big hole in protections from forever chemicals. This is a clear cave-in to special interests like the petrochemical industry and water utilities that care more about their bottom lines than the health of Americans.”
Katherine O’Brien, senior attorney at Earthjustice, denounced the move claiming it will “leave children and families to bear the cost of continued drinking water contamination.” Earthjustice reported that up to 105 million people nationwide would be affected by the standards’ rescission.
With this development, the status of PFAS regulation remains unsettled with competing perspectives being advocated by stakeholders.