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EPA Rolls Back Key PFAS Drinking Water Limits, Extends Compliance Deadline

The agency will retain strict standards for PFOA and PFOS but plans to ease restrictions on other PFAS chemicals, drawing criticism from environmental groups.

Equipment sits inside the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant, which processes water for much of New Hanover County in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
Water is processed through carbon filters inside large reservoirs designed to remove a forever chemical, known as PFAS at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
FILE - Vials containing samples of forever chemicals, known as PFAS, sit in a tray, April 10, 2024, at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lab in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File)

Overview

  • The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to weaken limits on three PFAS types, including GenX, and a PFAS mixture set under Biden-era rules.
  • Standards for PFOA and PFOS will remain at 4 parts per trillion, the lowest detectable level, ensuring continued regulation of these common PFAS chemicals.
  • The compliance deadline for utilities to meet federal PFAS standards will be extended by two years, now set for 2031.
  • EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated the changes aim to balance public health protection with practical flexibility for water systems.
  • Environmental groups condemned the rollback, arguing it undermines commitments to clean water and public safety.