SOURCE:
https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2025/05/08/new-york-high-risk-pfas-drinking-water/#google_vignette
By Edwin Viera - May 8, 2025
Some New Yorkers are at a higher risk of exposure to forever chemicals in drinking water.
An Environmental Working Group analysis found 189 of the state’s water systems have PFAS levels above the federal standard but below New York’s standard.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said Long Island faces a higher risk of PFAS exposure since all its water comes from the same aquifer.
“Because we have a kind of geologically unique drinking water source, it has made it very vulnerable to the types of industry and any kind of illegal dumping that occurs on the surface of Long Island,” Esposito explained.
Other reports showed more than 3,400 New York waterways contain forever chemicals. While New York’s PFAS standards are not as stringent as the federal levels, it is one of many states with its own limits on forever chemicals. Meanwhile, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin said new PFAS rules will hold polluters accountable but he may not keep Biden-era regulations.
Several water system owners nationwide have sued the EPA. Many groups feel it is too expensive to comply with federal limits.
Jared Hayes, senior policy analyst for the Environmental Working Group, said EPA research demonstrated it is more cost-effective to comply with the rules.
“They were seeing nearly $2 billion in savings just from the health care implications where people aren’t going to become as sick, aren’t going to be having chronic illnesses associated with prolonged exposure to PFAS,” Hayes pointed out. “These costs offset any additional costs (of) treatment.”
The EPA estimates it will cost more than $1 billion annually for all public drinking water systems to comply with the new limits but former President Joe Biden made $1 billion available for states and territories to remove PFAS from drinking water.