EPA proposes easing PFAS regulations

MEDFIELD, Mass. — Persistent and highly prevalent: that summarizes the PFAS situation in Massachusetts, where at least 170 water systems have high levels of the forever chemicals — some of which have been linked to cancer.

But the state is hardly alone. The Environmental Working Group has identified thousands of PFAS contaminated sites across the country.

PFAS chemicals were discovered around ninety years ago and have been used in a variety of applications — from consumer goods to firefighting equipment and foam. It is believed that in the latter capacity PFAS compounds entered water systems.

In April 2024, the EPA moved to begin cleaning up the PFAS mess. It adopted rules setting limits on contamination for five separate PFAS chemicals and a category for mixtures. The rules required water systems to complete an initial phase of testing for PFAS compounds by 2027 — and to meet Maximum Contamination Levels (MCL) by 2029.

But EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, appointed by President Donald Trump, announced Wednesday a plan to ease those regulations. Zeldin said the changes would introduce ‘common-sense flexibility’ into the PFAS equation — first, by extending the compliance date by two years to 2031. Zeldin said this would be particularly helpful to small, rural water companies that may be struggling to meet the previous date.

While Zeldin is not proposing to change the MCLs for two PFAS compounds: PFOS and PFOA — both set at 4 parts per trillion during the Biden Administration — he plans to rescind the standards on three other PFAS compounds and on PFAS mixtures that were part of the rules adopted last year.

Zeldin said rescinding those standards would be followed by a review to check for legal compliance under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

But environmentalists said that, if adopted, Zeldin’s PFAS proposals would harm public health.

“Americans have been exposed to these chemicals for decades,” said Melanie Benesh, Vice-President of Government Affairs for the Environmental Working Group. “They’re forever chemicals, so they don’t break down in the environment and they build up in the human body and are toxic at very low levels.”

PFAS chemicals persist because of a simple organic chemistry fact: they contain multiple carbon-fluorine bonds, which are among the strongest chemical bonds possible.

Benesh said there is no good reason to delay PFAS remediation.

“The science is incredibly clear and incredibly well-established on all six of these chemicals that they are toxic at very low amounts,” she said. “PFOA and PFOS have been linked to certain kinds of cancer.”

Benesh said the other compounds, while not found to be carcinogenic, cause other health issues, including effects on the reproductive and endocrine systems.

“As soon as you can eliminate one path of exposure, like drinking water, the better,” she said.

Zeldin said the proposed changes to the PFAS rules would be introduced this fall and finalized next spring. The proposal is likely to be met with considerable opposition, Benesh said.

“There is already a significant amount of outrage among communities that have learned over the years their drinking water is contaminated,” she said.

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