On Wednesday, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard. The Environmental Protection Agency says the new standards will protect communities from exposure to harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.”
Named the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, the final rule sets maximum contaminant levels at four parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS and 10 parts per trillion for PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA.
PFAS are widely present in various industrial and consumer products, such as fire-fighting foam, food packaging, and dental floss, as stated by the EPA.
Due to their slow degradation, these chemicals accumulate in humans, animals, and the environment, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.”
The EPA has stated that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS without risk of health impacts, but now it will require that public water utilities test for six different types of PFAS chemicals to reduce exposure in drinking water. According to the EPA, the new standards will reduce PFAS exposure for 100 million people and prevent thousands of deaths and illnesses.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement, “Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long.”
However, the American Farm Bureau Federation says the new rule unfairly targets rural America.
“Rural America shares the goal of ensuring the water we use to raise our families and grow our crops is healthy. Unfortunately, EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulation will disproportionally impact small communities, which lack the resources of large metropolitan systems, but will still be on the hook to pay the exorbitant costs of treating their water for PFAS chemicals.
The EPA says it expects 6 percent to 10 percent of the 66,000 public drinking water systems in the U.S. may have to reduce PFAS from their water systems to meet the new standard. Nearly $1 billion in newly available funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law helps states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and helps owners of private wells address PFAS contamination. However, the EPA has also noted that the cost of treating water will be around $1.5 billion.
“While we acknowledge the effort EPA has made in providing flexibility and support to small and rural systems, more needs to be done to lessen the burden of this rulemaking,” wrote Duvall. “We all want clean drinking water, but there are households that will not be able to afford this.”
