EPA Proposes federal limit on 2 PFAS compounds

The proposed “regulatory determination” unveiled by the agency today is the initial step in a yearslong process of setting a mandatory drinking water limit for the chemicals PFOA and PFOS. It comes as many states, frustrated with EPA’s slow pace, have begun work to enact their own drinking water limits for those two substances and sometimes others in the same chemical family.
“The U.S. leads the world in providing access to safe drinking water for its citizens, thanks in part to EPA’s implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. Wheeler last year promised to issue the determination as he sought Senate confirmation for his post.