April 29, 2025
On April 28, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release announcing the current administration’s planned actions to address contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In the release, Administrator Lee Zeldin is quoted emphasizing his long-standing concerns about PFAS and plans for action across EPA programs, including for advanced research and testing and keeping PFAS out of drinking water systems. He promises that these are the first, and not the last, actions EPA will take to address PFAS under this administration.
The actions outlined are in great part continuations of agency actions initiated (if not completed) under the Biden Administration and previous Trump Administration. Some actions specified are ones Congress has mandated, primarily in recent years through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
EPA divides its latest PFAS commitments into three categories: strengthening the science, fulfilling statutory obligations and enhancing communication, and building partnerships. Below are some of the key actions listed under each category.
Strengthening the Science:
- Designate an agency PFAS lead
- Collect information on and increase efforts for measurement techniques for PFAS air emissions
- Identify and address information gaps for PFAS that cannot be measured or controlled
- Issue annual updates to the PFAS Destruction and Disposal Guidance, rather than the NDAA-mandated minimum of once every three years
- Increase development of PFAS testing methods
Fulfilling Statutory Obligations and Enhancing Communication:
- Develop effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for PFAS manufacturers and metal finishers and consider development of other ELGs
- Address compliance challenges raised by Congress and drinking water systems in relation to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) PFAS drinking water standards
- Assess use of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act authorities to address releases from PFAS producers’ and users’ manufacturing operations
- Enforce Clean Water Act and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) limitations on PFAS use and release
- Engage with Congress and industry to establish a liability framework based on polluter pays principles and protections for passive receivers
Building Partnerships:
- Complete public comment period for biosolids risk assessment and use comments to determine a path forward
- Review and evaluate pending state air petitions
Additional actions already underway from the last several years are also included on the lists—for example, implementation of the TSCA Section 4 PFAS Testing Strategy to gather data on PFAS, addition of PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory in accordance with the 2020 NDAA congressional mandate, use of SDWA Section 1431 emergency authority to investigate and address imminent endangerment, and partnering with states and tribes on risk assessment and enforcement actions.
The future of PFAS under the current administration remains to be seen, as certain language in this week’s press release indicates potential modifications to ease previously established requirements. For example, regarding the reporting requirement currently in place under TSCA Section 8(a)(7) for those who have manufactured or imported PFAS since January 1, 2011, the press release states that EPA will “smartly collect necessary information…without overburdening small businesses and article importers.” Although small businesses that have only imported PFAS-containing articles have already been granted extra time to meet the reporting deadline (with a July 11, 2026 deadline, rather than the January 11, 2026 deadline for other entities), it is not clear whether the administration is referencing this existing deadline or intends to provide additional relief for small business from the Section 8(a)(7) requirements. Additionally, the reference to addressing compliance challenges with the PFAS drinking water standards based on input from Congress and drinking water systems indicates a potential willingness from the agency to ease compliance requirements for public water systems subject to the standards.
From the previous Trump Administration’s PFAS Action Plan to the Biden Administration’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and finalization of major PFAS rulemakings, addressing PFAS has proven to be a relatively bipartisan matter. This has also been evident in Congressional support for regulating and restricting PFAS use and releases. Time will tell which specific PFAS actions will survive, be modified, or be newly taken under the current administration. Unlike other EPA programs and past priorities, however, a focus on PFAS contamination is not on the chopping block.