SOURCE:
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/environment/pfas-drinking-rollback-d3ytbajl
By Tracy Tullis - May 14, 2025
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, a former Shirley congressman who spoke on Long Island last month, said the delayed deadline offers “common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance.” Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
The Trump administration plans to rescind the federal limits on four "forever chemicals" in drinking water and delay the deadline for compliance for two others, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Wednesday, weakening regulations of toxic contaminants that have been found in Long Island's water.
The EPA plan would delay when water utilities have to comply with the standard for two of the most well-studied compounds, PFOA and PFOS, by two years, from 2029 to 2031.
Zeldin, a former Shirley congressman, said in an announcement on the agency's website the delayed deadline offers "common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance." He said he was canceling limits on PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS, or combinations of those chemicals, to "ensure that the determinations and any resulting drinking water regulation follow the legal process laid out in the Safe Drinking Water Act."
Environmental health advocates condemned the rollbacks and vowed to challenge them in court.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
The Trump administration announced plans to delay or rescind federal limits on PFAS chemicals in drinking water.
Public health advocates said the rollbacks of the standards set by the Biden administration would threaten public health.
Experts said the regulations cannot legally be weakened, and that TrumpPresident Donald Trump should expect legal challenges.
After years of study and finalizing a science-based rule, "now the administration is going to toss out most of these long-sought protections and allow this contamination to continue unabated," Erik Olson, a lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.
The weakening of the rules are "a betrayal of public trust," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale, "and adds a significant threat to public health."
Peer reviewed scientific studies have shown PFAS exposure is linked to developmental problems in infants and children; certain cancers, including prostate, kidney and testicular; and other health problems. When the regulation was implemented, the EPA estimated the rule would reduce exposure for 100 million Americans, save thousands of lives and prevent tens of thousands of serious illnesses. It said the rule would ultimately save $1.5 billion in health care costs.
Found in Long Island water
On Long Island, two water districts, Locust Valley and the Suffolk County Water Authority, have detected one of the canceled compounds or a combination in at least one of their wells, according to a federal database of test results.
The Suffolk County Water Authority said since those samples were taken, there are treatment systems on three of the four wells where PFHxS has been detected, and the water from the fourth well is mixed with the others and has very low detections. Locust Valley did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
PFOA and PFOS are far more common, and while New York has regulated those two contaminants since 2020, state regulations are significantly weaker than the federal rules.
Seven water districts in total had annual averages of PFAS that exceeded federal limits, according to a Newsday analysis of federal data. All said they had installed treatment systems or were planning to install them.
Advocates said President Donald Trump should expect legal challenges.
"This isn’t deregulation — it’s abandonment," Rob Hayes, senior director of clean water at Environmental Advocates NY, said in a statement. "EPA, an institution dedicated to protecting our drinking water, is telling over a million New Yorkers that their health isn’t important."
There are "anti-backsliding provisions" in the Clean Water Act, which authorizes the EPA to set drinking water standards, Olson previously told Newsday. Those provisions establish that any revisions must provide equal or greater protection to public health.
PFAS manufacturer Chemours and trade groups representing the chemical industry and water utilities argued in a lawsuit seeking to rescind the PFAS regulations that the EPA had not followed the correct procedures in setting those limits.
The actor Mark Ruffalo, who has emerged as a prominent activist against PFAS contamination since he starred in a film as the real-life lawyer who fought against polluters, also weighed in on the announcement. "After decades of delay, communities across the nation who were poisoned by PFAS polluters believed that help was finally coming," Ruffalo said. "This will make America sicker, not healthier."
Zeldin said the EPA will propose a new rule in the fall.
