The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 14, 2024, that they have released their third annual progress report on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
“EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap: Three Years of Progress” highlights the achievements the agency has made under its PFAS Strategic Roadmap and the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government strategy to protect communities from the impacts of the contaminants.
In 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan established the EPA Council on PFAS and charged the group to develop the agency’s strategic roadmap. The roadmap is EPA’s commitment to confront PFAS contamination head on – by following the science, leveraging all available tools and authorities, holding polluters accountable and investing resources to protect communities.
Key takeaways from the report
Protecting drinking water
In 2024, the EPA announced the first-ever, nationwide, legally enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS.
According to the EPA, the final rule will reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses.
Since early 2021, the EPA has also been undertaking the largest nationwide effort to understand the frequency that PFAS is found in drinking water, and at what levels. Under this program, EPA is collecting, and making publicly available, data on 29 different PFAS molecules in drinking water at approximately 10,000 water systems nationwide.
Investing in projects to address PFAS contamination in water
Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the EPA is investing $10 billion for removal of PFAS and other emerging contaminants from water.
Most of this funding is helping communities to install new infrastructure and treatment technologies to address PFAS in drinking water.
The EPA also announced its fiscal year 2024 funding allocations for EPA’s Tribal infrastructure financing programs for PFAS and other emerging contaminants, including more than $35 million for drinking water and $4.5 million for clean water.
Cleaning up PFAS contamination on lands
The EPA is making sure that polluters pay for the cleanup of PFAS contamination.
In 2024, the EPA finalized a rule designating PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, to compel those most responsible for PFAS contamination to pay for cleanup, rather than taxpayers.
Advancing chemical safety
The EPA has taken actions to harness the authorities of the Toxic Substances Control Act and other laws to protect people from PFAS and account for risks to vulnerable subpopulations.
For example, the EPA finalized a rule to prevent inactive PFAS from reentering commerce. This stops companies from starting or resuming the manufacture or processing of 329 PFAS molecules that have not been made or used for many years without complete EPA review and risk determination.
For PFAS that were previously reviewed, the EPA has issued rules to ensure any protective restrictions are more broadly applicable to all manufacturers and processors of those chemicals.
Safeguarding waterways
The EPA put critical building blocks in place for understanding and addressing PFAS in the nation’s waters.
The EPA finalized the development of two critical methods for measuring PFAS in air, water, soil and other environmental media.
The agency finalized water quality criteria for PFOA and PFOS as well as benchmarks for other PFAS to protect aquatic life.
The EPA also released a recommended list of PFAS to monitor for state and Tribal fish and shellfish advisory programs.
Pursuing enforcement and compliance
The EPA established a clear PFAS enforcement discretion and settlement policy under CERCLA to reinforce the agency’s focus on significant contributors to the PFAS contamination challenge – and not entities like farms or water utilities.
The EPA also instituted a new national enforcement and compliance initiative to focus its resources and attention on enforcement and actions that protect public health.
Advancing the understanding of PFAS
The EPA catalyzed numerous research and regulatory programs to collect and generate data on PFAS that will improve scientific understanding of this large and diverse class of chemicals.
The agency also developed, implemented and refined the agency’s national PFAS testing strategy, which is building information on categories of PFAS to inform future decisions. These efforts complement an ongoing and rigorous research agenda.
Reducing PFAS in products and purchasing
The EPA has taken action to reduce PFAS uses in commerce through efforts to remove PFAS as a class of chemicals rather than only a few chemicals at a time.
Additionally, the EPA has ensured that PFAS are not intentionally added to Safer Choice-certified products and has removed PFAS from the list of inert ingredients approved for use in nonfood pesticide products.
The agency also joined the General Services Administration (GSA) in taking action to cut PFAS from U.S. government custodial contracts.
The full strategic roadmap can be found here.
