PROPOSED RULE: Extending the Compliance Deadline for the PFOA and PFOS Maximum Contaminant Levels; Notice of Public Hearing Regulations.gov Document ID: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-1742-0001" target="_blank">EPA-HQ-OW-2025-1742-0001</a> Comment Period: May 20, 2026 to July 20, 2026 Agency: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
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Stop EPA’s Proposed New Rules to Allow Continued Poisoning of America’s Drinking Water with Toxic PFAS Chemicals
In a recent EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-advances-comprehensive-pfas-strategy-legally-defensible-practical-scientifically" target="_blank">announcement</a>, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., proclaimed the agency was Making America Healthy Again by tackling the issue of <a href="https://toxinfreeusa.org/education/what-are-pfas-forever-chemicals-and-how-to-avoid-them/" target="_blank">toxic PFAS chemicals</a> in the nation’s drinking water.
In the bizarre statement, Zeldin said the solution to removing toxic PFAS chemicals in our drinking water was not to regulate and remove PFAS in drinking water, but to deregulate.
In 2024, the Biden EPA finalized the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-first-ever-national-drinking-water-standard" target="_blank">first-ever legally enforceable PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation</a> to begin protecting Americans from PFAS pollution. The rule set limits for six individual PFAS: PFOA and PFOS limits were set at 4.0 parts per trillion (ppt) maximum contaminant level (MCL). The MCL for PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (also known as GenX) was set at 10 ppt. The rule also set a limit for mixtures of any two or more of four PFAS: PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX chemicals. Overall the rule would have regulated six of the most widely-used PFAS.
The rule would have given public water systems until April 26, 2027 to complete the first round of PFAS testing and reporting, and until April 26, 2029 to implement treatment and reduce PFAS to meet the standards.
This rule was proposed after years of reviewing extensive research and independent peer-reviewed science, and after a public comment period that amassed over 120,000 comments from the public, including GMO/Toxin Free USA, overwhelmingly in support of the rule.
But now, Trump’s EPA has proposed rescinding the Biden-era rule and is proposing two new rules instead.
In the first rule, the EPA is “proposing to rescind its regulatory determinations to regulate four PFAS PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, commonly known as GenX, and mixtures of these three PFAS plus PFBS under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA is also proposing to rescind all associated regulatory provisions currently codified in the EPA's 2024 PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.”
In the second rule, the EPA “proposes a federal exemption that will extend the dates of compliance with the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for PFOA and PFOS from April 26, 2029, to April 26, 2031.”
In plain English: what the EPA wants to do is to drop regulation on four of the six PFAS and delay the regulation of the remaining two. Keep in mind that there are potentially over 15,000 PFAS chemicals used in manufacturing. So regulating six PFAS was only a start.
Unfortunately, gaslighting by Lee Zeldin and an EPA <a href="https://toxinfreeusa.org/the-environmental-protection-agencys-revolving-door-the-foxes-are-now-guarding-all-the-hen-houses/" target="_blank">stacked with chemical industry lobbyists</a> have become the norm.&nbsp;
Activists across the country have advocated and fought for decades for action on removing PFAS from drinking water. We cannot allow this ultra-corrupt administration, beholden to the chemical industry, to roll back progress in protecting public health.
“Zeldin and Kennedy are trying to sell potions out of the back of a covered wagon. The millions of Americans demanding safe drinking water are not going to fall for their hocus pocus. By repealing and delaying PFAS standards, EPA is abandoning communities in desperate need of drinking water protections, especially those who live near polluting industries,” <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-pfas" target="_blank">said Anna Reade</a>, director of PFAS advocacy at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
By law, the EPA must provide a public comment period on these changes. Because the EPA wants to make commenting difficult, they have created two separate dockets, one for each proposed rule. The suggested comment texts are editable and we encourage you to write them in your own voice.
After taking action on this rule, <a href="https://mstr.app/e84cc9d3-f881-497a-9114-324070943430" target="_blank">CLICK ON THIS LINK to take action on the other rule.</a>&nbsp;

ACTION 2 of 2: Stop EPA Delay of PFAS Drinking Water Regulation

I strongly oppose any delay of PFAS compliance deadlines. Communities across the country have already waited far too long for meaningful protections from toxic “forever chemicals” contaminating drinking water supplies. PFAS exposure has been linked to serious health harms including cancer, immune system suppression, developmental harms, and reproductive impacts. Delaying compliance would prolong unsafe exposure for millions of Americans while shifting the burden of contamination onto the public rather than polluters.

The EPA’s existing PFAS drinking water standards represent a critical and long-overdue public health safeguard grounded in solid scientific evidence. Utilities and responsible parties have had ample notice that action was needed. Weakening or postponing these requirements undermines public trust, creates regulatory uncertainty, and puts vulnerable populations — especially children, pregnant women, and rural communities — at continued risk.

EPA should maintain the current compliance timeline and prioritize rapid implementation, technical assistance, and accountability for polluters instead of granting additional delays. Clean, safe drinking water is a basic public health necessity, not a timeline that should be negotiated away.

Action REG EPA-HQ-OW-2025-1742-0001 PFAS Delay

GMO/Toxin Free USA

Do not delay PFAS compliance for drinking water

I oppose EPA’s proposal to delay PFAS drinking water compliance deadlines by an additional two years. Every year of delay means continued exposure to toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, liver damage, immune system effects, developmental harms, and other serious health concerns. Families should not be forced to wait even longer for protections that are already justified by extensive scientific evidence.

The communities most affected by PFAS contamination are often those with the fewest resources to address it. Extending compliance deadlines disproportionately harms rural communities, low-income households, and vulnerable populations that rely on contaminated drinking water sources. These residents have already borne the costs of decades of pollution while manufacturers and polluters have avoided accountability.

The EPA's PFAS drinking water standards were adopted to address an urgent public health crisis. Delaying implementation sends the wrong message to polluters and undermines confidence in the agency's commitment to protecting public health. Rather than postponing compliance, EPA should focus on supporting water systems in meeting existing requirements and ensuring that responsible parties bear the costs of cleanup. Americans deserve timely access to safe drinking water free from PFAS contamination.

No more delays in PFAS drinking water compliance

I strongly object to the proposed two-year delay of PFAS compliance deadlines. The current timeline was established after years of scientific review, public input, and regulatory consideration. Reopening and delaying these requirements rewards inaction while penalizing communities that continue to face contamination of their drinking water.

Regulated entities have been aware for years that PFAS standards were forthcoming and have had substantial time to prepare for compliance. Extending deadlines now creates uncertainty for water systems that have already invested in treatment upgrades and planning efforts based on the existing schedule. It also sends a troubling signal that public health protections can be postponed indefinitely despite clear evidence of harm.

PFAS contamination represents one of the most widespread drinking water challenges in the nation. EPA should be accelerating efforts to remove these chemicals from drinking water, not slowing them down. The agency should maintain the current compliance deadlines, provide targeted technical and financial assistance where needed, and ensure that polluters—not taxpayers and affected communities—are held responsible for the costs of contamination and cleanup.