Baldwin, Colleagues Demand EPA Drop its Effort to Weaken PFAS Drinking Water Protections for Millions of Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and her colleagues are demanding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdraw their proposal to roll back drinking water protections - which, if finalized, would remove federal public health limits on the amount of certain PFAS chemicals in our drinking water.

The Senators emphasize that removing these health limits will expose Americans to unsafe levels of chemicals that have been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, immune suppression problems, developmental harm, thyroid disease, pregnancy complications, and liver damage.

"Safe drinking water is not a partisan issue. Families across the country expect that when they turn on the tap, their water is safe to drink. Congress enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure EPA relies on the best available science to protect public health-not to weaken existing protections once the science has been established," wrote Baldwin and the Senators to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

Despite the administration touting their 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda, if enacted, EPA's proposal would rescind the 2024 National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for PFAS and delay compliance for the PFOA and PFOS standards until 2031 - putting the health of millions of Americans at risk.

"As far back as the 1950s, scientists observed that PFAS compounds could accumulate in human bloodstreams. It took decades of advocacy and heroic scientific research to reach the historic moment in 2024 when EPA finally promulgated the very first national drinking water standards for PFAS compounds. We cannot afford to go backwards and make Americans' health worse," the Senators concluded.

The letter was led by Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and also signed by 24 other Senate colleagues.

Senator Baldwin has championed PFAS remediation efforts, supporting and securing funding to address contamination in communities across Wisconsin. She supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 that is making historic investments in clean drinking water, including funding to address emerging contaminants like PFAS. Senator Baldwin has also secured millions in direct support for Wisconsin communities to address PFAS contamination through annual funding legislation. In 2019, Senator Baldwin helped secure provisions to the annual defense policy bill that require nationwide environmental testing for PFAS, establish enforceable standards for PFAS in drinking water, and authorize funding to develop better testing methods for PFAS in the environment.

In July, Senator Baldwin demanded answers from the Trump administration after it had pushed back its PFAS investigation and cleanup timelines by as much as 20 years across 178 sites, including Truax Field and Volk Field in Wisconsin.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Administrator Zeldin:

We write in strong opposition to EPA's proposal to rescind the 2024 National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX, and the Hazard Index mixtures, while also delaying compliance for the PFOA and PFOS standards until 2031. These actions would reverse the first-ever national drinking water protections for six of the most dangerous and well-studied PFAS chemicals, despite overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrating that there is no safe level of exposure to many of these chemicals. Furthermore, there is a strong case to be made that this proposal contravenes the Safe Drinking Water Act's anti-backsliding provision.

The agency's proposal is inconsistent with both the scientific record and EPA's own prior findings. The 2024 drinking water standards followed years of scientific review, public input, and economic analysis. EPA concluded that the standards would protect up to 105 million people from exposure to toxic PFAS in drinking water, prevent thousands of premature deaths, reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses, and generate billions of dollars in public health benefits.

PFAS contamination is one of the most widespread public health concerns facing our nation. Nearly every American has PFAS in their blood, and millions of people continue to rely on drinking water contaminated with these persistent chemicals. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, immune suppression, developmental harm, thyroid disease, pregnancy complications, and liver damage.

EPA has repeatedly stated that protecting Americans from PFAS is a top priority. Yet these proposed rollbacks move in the opposite direction. In addressing revisions to drinking water regulations, the Safe Drinking Water Act itself states that "each revision shall maintain, or provide for greater, protection of the health of persons." Rather than strengthening protections, the proposal eliminates enforceable standards for four PFAS entirely and delays protections for the two most prevalent PFAS. Communities living with contamination should not be forced to wait additional years for clean drinking water while polluters and regulated entities receive regulatory relief.

Your agency has suggested that regulating only PFOA and PFOS is sufficient because these chemicals are often found alongside other PFAS. However, EPA's own scientific record demonstrates otherwise. Other PFAS occur independently, contribute to cumulative health risks, and warrant their own enforceable protections. Removing standards for these contaminants will leave significant gaps in public health protections and create unnecessary uncertainty for water systems and states that have already begun compliance planning.

Moreover, many utilities and states have already invested substantial resources to comply with the 2024 standards using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and other federal assistance. Weakening the standards now undermines those investments, creates regulatory uncertainty, and penalizes communities that have acted responsibly to protect public health.

Safe drinking water is not a partisan issue. Families across the country expect that when they turn on the tap, their water is safe to drink. Congress enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure EPA relies on the best available science to protect public health-not to weaken existing protections once the science has been established.

We therefore urge EPA to withdraw its proposal to rescind the 2024 drinking water standards for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX, and the Hazard Index mixtures, reject the proposed delay for the PFOA and PFOS standards, and fully implement the 2024 National Primary Drinking Water Regulations as finalized.

As far back as the 1950s, scientists observed that PFAS compounds could accumulate in human bloodstreams. It took decades of advocacy and heroic scientific research to reach the historic moment in 2024 when EPA finally promulgated the very first national drinking water standards for PFAS compounds. We cannot afford to go backwards and make Americans' health worse. Thank you for your consideration.

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