The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on PFAS, commonly known as "forever chemicals," in drinking water, according to an Environmental Protection Agency official. The agency intends to rescind and revisit limits on three types of the substances while keeping standards for the two most common variants but extending compliance deadlines.
Jessica Kramer, head of the EPA's Office of Water, said at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that the agency plans to start the formal process of rolling back parts of the first-ever federal limits on PFAS in drinking water. The Biden administration finalized those standards after finding they increased risks of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and low birth weight in babies.
The proposal would rescind limits on three types of PFAS, including GenX substances found in North Carolina, according to officials who outlined their intentions a year ago. Officials said the move stems from concerns that the Biden administration did not follow the correct legal process when setting those particular limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA will then reconsider those standards.
What the Right Is Saying
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended the approach when first announcing the action last year, calling delayed compliance deadlines "common-sense flexibility." He said at the time that the extension would support water systems across the country, including small systems in rural communities, as they work to address these contaminants.
Kramer emphasized legal defensibility at this week's conference. "We need drinking water rules that are legally defensible," she said. "We need drinking water regulations that are not susceptible to legal challenge because the explicit process in the Safe Drinking Water Act wasn't followed." She said the intent is to start the process over and follow proper procedures.
The agency has stated it remains committed to helping utilities reduce PFAS through technical assistance, citing billions of dollars in extra funding available for installing treatment systems. The administration has also indicated it will defend tough standards to reduce lead in tap water, a distinction from its approach on other environmental regulations.
What the Left Is Saying
Environmental advocates criticized the proposal as potentially illegal and harmful to public health. Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs with the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy organization, said the move is likely unlawful because the Safe Drinking Water Act prevents officials from issuing regulations weaker than those previously in place.
"Forcing utilities to treat for several types of PFAS can help ensure that other potentially harmful substances are filtered out of water, too," Benesh said, noting that broader treatment requirements serve public health interests beyond just addressing specific PFAS variants.
The move drew scrutiny from the Make America Healthy Again movement, which has advocated against corporate environmental harms and been championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Critics argue the rollback prioritizes industry over community health protections established after extensive scientific review.
What the Numbers Show
The Biden-era rule set limits on PFOA and PFOS, the two most common PFAS variants, at 4 parts per trillion. Under the proposed revision, utilities would receive an additional two years until 2031 to achieve compliance with those standards, which remain in place but are not being rescinded.
PFAS compounds have been detected in drinking water systems nationwide. The EPA estimates that implementing treatment for these contaminants could cost billions of dollars across thousands of water systems, with smaller rural utilities facing proportionally higher per-household costs. The agency has allocated funding through infrastructure legislation to assist with compliance.
The three PFAS variants targeted for rescission are considered less common than PFOA and PFOS but include GenX substances, a class of compounds associated with manufacturing facilities in states like North Carolina.
The Bottom Line
The proposal marks the first major step toward unwinding Biden-era drinking water standards since the Trump administration took office. While the agency is preserving limits on the most prevalent PFAS variants, critics say even partial rollbacks could expose communities to health risks that federal scientists identified as significant.
Public comment periods will follow the formal proposal, giving affected utilities, health advocates, and industry groups opportunities to weigh in before any changes are finalized. Legal challenges are expected regardless of outcome, given the Safe Drinking Water Act's restrictions on weakening standards.
The timing aligns with broader regulatory efforts championed by the Make America Healthy Again movement within the administration. What remains to be seen is whether the legal rationale offered for rescinding certain PFAS limits will withstand judicial scrutiny or set precedent for future challenges to environmental standards.