EPA will move forward with plans to propose weakening some Biden-era PFAS limits, official says

SURROUNDED BY IT. SO POSES ARE A HUGE GROUP OF CHEMICALS OILS THAT ARE FOUND IN ALMOST EVERYWHERE. MEGAN ARNETT IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE UC BERKELEY CENTER FOR GREEN CHEMISTRY AND HAS BEEN KNEE DEEP IN ONE PARTICULAR CHEMICAL. THEY ARE POLYFLUOROALKYL P-FAS BECAME POPULAR IN THE 1940S, FAMOUSLY IN THOSE NONSTICK PANS YOU MAY HAVE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE, BUT FROM THAT A HUGE INDUSTRY GREW BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY EFFECTIVE AT WHAT THEY DO. THEY ARE VERY GOOD AT CREATING MOISTURE BARRIERS, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED IN OUR DAILY LIVES. SO EFFECTIVE ARE THEY AT STOPPING MOISTURE FROM SEEPING THROUGH THINGS? YOU CAN FIND IN EVERYTHING FROM RUGS TO THE CHAIR YOU MAY BE SITTING ON TO TABLE CLOTHS AND EVEN THE EXAMPLE THAT I OFTEN USE IS THINKING ABOUT YOUR BUTTER WRAPPERS FOR YOUR THE BUTTER. THAT’S IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR. YOU WANT THAT TO HAVE A STRONG MOISTURE BARRIER, RIGHT? YOU DON’T WANT THINGS TO BE LEACHING IN OR OUT OF THAT WRAPPER. BUT OVER TIME, STUDIES OF P-FAS HAVE SHOWN THAT EXPOSURE CAN LEAD TO MAJOR HEALTH RISKS. IT’S WHAT THEY CALL AN ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICAL DISRUPT FIGHTING THE HORMONES IN YOUR BODY AND PEOPLE EXPOSED TO LARGE AMOUNTS OF IT, LIKE FIREFIGHTERS WHO HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF EXPOSURE TO LOTS OF CHEMICALS, HAVE HIGHER RATES OF CANCER. WE’RE REALLY JUST STARTING TO UNDERSTAND AND IT IS VERY HARD TO DRAW THE TO MAKE THESE CONCLUSIVE STATEMENTS BECAUSE WE ARE EXPOSED TO A LOT OF CHEMICALS IN OUR DAILY LIFE. OTHER CANCERS CAN BE CAUSED FROM HIGH EXPOSURE TO AS WELL, LIKE BREAST, OVARIAN AND SKIN CANCER, EVEN LIKE COSMETIC PRODUCTS THAT HAVE P.F.E. IN THEM. THERE ARE FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS THAT HAVE PFOA IN THEM, BUT WE ARE MOVING AWAY FROM THAT AND WITH AWARENESS COMES MORE ALTERNATIVES AS MIKE CHERRY KCRA 3 INVESTIGATES. NOW, THERE ARE RESOURCES TO FIND PRODUCTS WITHOUT THESE FOREVER CHEMICALS, AND WE’LL POST THOSE ON OUR WEBSITE AND ON THE KCRA 3 APP. AND COMING UP TONIGHT AT TEN THAT FOREVER CHEMICAL P-FAS IS ALSO CAUSING HIGHER RATES OF CANCER IN FIREFIGHTERS. AS WAS MENTIONED IN THE STORY, MIKE’S INVESTIGATION LOOKS INTO THE DANGERS FOR FIREFIGHTERS THAT THEY DON’

Updated: 2:59 PM EDT May 7, 2026

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Updated: 2:59 PM EDT May 7, 2026

Editorial Standards ⓘ

The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on "forever chemicals" in drinking water, delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types and rescinding limits on some rarer forms of the substance, according to an EPA official.The proposal will start the formal process of rolling back parts of the first-ever limits on PFAS in drinking water finalized during former President Joe Biden's administration. Officials at the time found they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight.Jessica Kramer, head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water, said at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that the agency intended to rescind and revisit certain limits she said were improperly issued by the Biden administration. The move would align with actions the EPA had said a year ago it intended to take.The proposal comes at a time when the agency is facing scrutiny from the Make America Healthy Again movement on issues like PFAS and pesticides. The group in part advocates against corporate environmental harms and has been championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.The details of the plan haven't yet been released, but officials previously said they would propose rescinding limits on three types of PFAS, including what are known as GenX substances found in North Carolina. They will then reconsider them. They will do the same with a limit on a mixture of several types of PFAS."We need drinking water rules that are legally defensible. 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. And so that is a huge concern," said Kramer at a conference focused on ensuring everyone has access to safe drinking water and wastewater.She said the intent is to start the process over and follow the law. The Biden administration faced allegations they did not follow the correct legal process, moving too quickly on limits on the less common types of PFAS the agency is proposing to rescind limits for.The agency said they are committed to helping utilities reduce PFAS in drinking water. The agency provides technical assistance, and there have been billions of dollars in extra funding available to assist in installing and navigating the expensive and sometimes complex treatment that's needed to remove the chemicals.The Biden administration's rule also set tight standards for the two common types of PFAS, referred to as PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion. The EPA has said they intend to keep those standards, but give utilities two extra years — until 2031 — to comply.EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said last year, when the EPA first announced that it would take this action, that delaying the deadline was "common-sense flexibility.""This will support water systems across the country, including small systems in rural communities, as they work to address these contaminants," he said at the time.On drinking water broadly, the Trump administration said it would defend tough standards to reduce lead in tap water. That's in contrast to their efforts to slash health protections for coal and other polluting energy sources."Where they may have taken a wrecking ball to those rules, this is a little more surgical and measured in part because of the resonance of these issues among voters," said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.Forcing utilities to treat for several types of PFAS can help ensure that other potentially harmful substances are filtered out of water, too, according to the nonprofit.Benesh also said the move is likely illegal — the Safe Drinking Water Act, which authorizes EPA to regulate contaminants in drinking water, prevents officials from issuing regulations that are weaker than those previously in place.The public will have a chance to comment before the change is finalized.

The proposal will start the formal process of rolling back parts of the first-ever limits on PFAS in drinking water finalized during former President Joe Biden's administration. Officials at the time found they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight.

Jessica Kramer, head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water, said at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that the agency intended to rescind and revisit certain limits she said were improperly issued by the Biden administration. The move would align with actions the EPA had said a year ago it intended to take.

The proposal comes at a time when the agency is facing scrutiny from the Make America Healthy Again movement on issues like PFAS and pesticides. The group in part advocates against corporate environmental harms and has been championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The details of the plan haven't yet been released, but officials previously said they would propose rescinding limits on three types of PFAS, including what are known as GenX substances found in North Carolina. They will then reconsider them. They will do the same with a limit on a mixture of several types of PFAS.

"We need drinking water rules that are legally defensible. 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. And so that is a huge concern," said Kramer at a conference focused on ensuring everyone has access to safe drinking water and wastewater.

She said the intent is to start the process over and follow the law. The Biden administration faced allegations they did not follow the correct legal process, moving too quickly on limits on the less common types of PFAS the agency is proposing to rescind limits for.

The agency said they are committed to helping utilities reduce PFAS in drinking water. The agency provides technical assistance, and there have been billions of dollars in extra funding available to assist in installing and navigating the expensive and sometimes complex treatment that's needed to remove the chemicals.

The Biden administration's rule also set tight standards for the two common types of PFAS, referred to as PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion. The EPA has said they intend to keep those standards, but give utilities two extra years — until 2031 — to comply.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said last year, when the EPA first announced that it would take this action, that delaying the deadline was "common-sense flexibility."

"This will support water systems across the country, including small systems in rural communities, as they work to address these contaminants," he said at the time.

On drinking water broadly, the Trump administration said it would defend tough standards to reduce lead in tap water. That's in contrast to their efforts to slash health protections for coal and other polluting energy sources.

"Where they may have taken a wrecking ball to those rules, this is a little more surgical and measured in part because of the resonance of these issues among voters," said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.

Forcing utilities to treat for several types of PFAS can help ensure that other potentially harmful substances are filtered out of water, too, according to the nonprofit.

Benesh also said the move is likely illegal — the Safe Drinking Water Act, which authorizes EPA to regulate contaminants in drinking water, prevents officials from issuing regulations that are weaker than those previously in place.

The public will have a chance to comment before the change is finalized.

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EPA will move forward with plans to propose weakening some Biden-era PFAS limits, official says

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