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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced in a May 14th news release what it describes as an action that will “provide regulatory flexibility and holistically address” the perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”) Sade Drinking Water Act National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (“NPDWR”) standards.
EPA states that it intends to:
- Extend compliance deadlines for PFOA and PFOS.
- Establish a federal exemption framework.
- Initiate enhanced outreach to water systems.
- Rescind the regulations and reconsider the regulatory determinations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX), and what the agency describes as the Hazard Index mixture of these three plus PFBS.
EPA had previously announced the final NPDWR on April 10, 2024, standards for PFOA and PFOS.
The compliance deadline for meeting the Maximum Contaminant Levels has now been extended from 2029 to 2031. The federal agency states that it plans to develop a rulemaking to provide such additional time for compliance.
The American Water Works Association and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies had previously filed a judicial action challenging these Safe Drinking Water Act NPDWR’s.
A copy of the press release can be downloaded here.
