We’re six months into 2025, and now that the new U.S. EPA administration has had a chance to review current programs and proposals, we’re starting to see some noteworthy announcements. As usual, we’ll share the highlights in this month’s News and Views.
EPA Announces Major Actions to Combat PFAS
In a much-anticipated announcement, EPA Administrator Zeldon laid out the agency’s PFAS direction for the future. Although the announcement understandably lacked specificity at times, there were several elements our team considered noteworthy. Paul Jackson, Pace® Program Manager for Environmental Compliance and Emerging Contaminants, provided his perspective in a recent post.
EPA Makes a Decision on PFAS Limits in Drinking Water
There has been plenty of speculation about the direction the EPA would take on the Primary Drinking Water Regulations for PFAS. In a May press release, the agency announced their decision: PFOA and PFOS limits would remain, but the compliance deadline would be extended to 2031. The other limits, including the Hazard Index, will be rescinded. The EPA expects to publish a proposed rule this Fall and finalize it by spring of 2026. Once again, we provided our perspectives in a recent post:
Read: The View from the Lab: Proposed Changes to PFAS Limits in Drinking Water.
EPA Requests Another Extension for PFAS MCL Legal Challenge
In light of the agency’s proposed changes to PFAS MCLs in drinking water, the EPA has asked for an additional 45 days to prepare their response to the legal challenges to the current PFAS regulations. The organizations that filed the suit, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, and The Chemours Company FC, LLC, have not opposed the extension. The June 4th filing can be found here.
EPA Releases 8th Set of UCMR 5 Data
On June 2, 2025, the EPA released the 8th set of data from UCMR 5 sampling. With roughly 75% of sampling complete, we’re getting close to having truly representative data. To that end, the EPA’s data summary offers an estimated weighted percentage of 8.5% of PWSs nationwide seeing averages greater than the MCL. Individually, the percentage of small and large PWSs with averages greater than the MCL remains within half a point for all regulated PFAS.
In the most recent data summary, the agency broke out medium PWSs (those serving 3,300 – 10,000 people). Previously, data from medium-sized PWSs were included in the small PWS metric. In addition, USA Today did an interesting analysis of the data and determined that nearly a quarter of PWSs serving over 100,000 people had PFAS levels greater than the MCL.
As you can see from the above table, PFOS and PFOA are the lead source of systems exceeding the MCLs. Therefore, by the EPA potentially rescinding the additional PFAS with associated MCLs, there will not be a substantial impact on the number of systems that will need to install remediation in order to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
TSCA Reporting Deadline Further Extended
While many expected the new EPA administration might ease up on some of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) PFAS reporting requirements, that hasn’t happened – yet. However, in May, the agency, extended the reporting deadline again, this time to October 13, 2026, for most types of entities and April 13, 2027, for small businesses reporting as importers only. The EPA stated that the extra time was needed to ensure the reporting systems were ready to receive the data. Additionally, the agency also left open the possibility of re-opening certain other aspects of TSCA PFAS reporting to public comment.
Update on State PFAS Legislation
Six months into the year, PFAS legislation proposed early in 2025 is starting to work its way through the respective state legislatures. According to the Safer States Bill Tracker, seven have been signed into law. Interestingly, three of the four deal directly with wastewater-related matrices, including wastewater discharge, biosolids, and landfill leachate. L.D. 130 is indirectly related as it addresses PFAS contamination of agricultural lands. While biosolids aren’t mentioned directly, they are likely to have contributed to the contamination.
|
State |
Bill |
Issue/Sector |
Description |
|
Virginia |
Wastewater Discharge |
Requires monitoring and reduction of PFAS levels in the Occoquan Reservoir by facilities discharging industrial wastewater. |
|
|
Maine |
Agriculture |
Establishes PFAS Response Program to respond to and address PFAS contamination affecting agricultural producers. |
|
|
Maine |
Landfill Leachate |
Establishes regulations concerning the management and testing of landfill leachate for PFAS chemicals. |
|
|
Washington |
Biosolids/Sludge |
Establishes a program for managing biosolids, focusing on PFAS chemical testing and analysis. |
|
|
Washington |
Appropriations |
Appropriations bill. Includes funding for PFAS cleanup and to help identify additional priority consumer products containing PFAS for potential regulatory action. |
|
|
Washington |
Appropriations |
Appropriations bill. Includes funding to the Department of Ecology for PFAS response and cleanup. |
|
|
Oregon |
Firefighting Foam |
Prohibits the sale, use, and disposal of firefighting foam containing PFAS. Establishes a program to ensure the safe collection and disposal of PFAS-containing firefighting foam. |
In addition, Illinois HB2516 has passed both houses as of May 31st. This bill bans intentionally added PFAS in cosmetics, dental floss, children’s products, menstrual products, and intimate apparel as of 2032. As of this writing, the legislation had not yet been signed by the Illinois governor.
For more information on PFAS testing of consumer products, check out our recent webinar: Quantifying PFAS in Consumer and Related Products.
Upcoming Conferences
My colleagues and I will be speaking at several conferences in June and July. If you are in the area or attending one of these, we would love to meet you. Contact us to request a meeting.
33rd Annual Environmental Law and Regulation Conference, Orange Beach, Alabama, June 27. Paul Jackson, Pace® Program Manager for Environmental Compliance and Emerging Contaminants, will be speaking about PFAS Project Considerations for the Legal Community at 9:45 AM.
Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) Annual Conference and Expo, Savannah, GA, July 13-16. On the 14th, from 3:30 – 4:00, I will be speaking about how to avoid cross-contamination when collecting samples for PFAS analysis.
Missouri Waste Control Coalition (MWCC) Environmental Conference, Osage Beach, MO, July 13-15. Paul Jackson will be delivering two sessions at this conference, both on July 15th. The first, at 10:30 AM, will be on how the PFAS CERCLA rule impacts the solid waste industry. Then, at 11:30 AM, he present an update on PFAS test methods for the solid waste industry.
How can we help?
PFAS in drinking water played a significant role in this month’s PFAS News & Views. While many state laboratories are capable of testing PFAS in drinking water, laboratory capacity can be an issue. Furthermore, testing other matrices, such as soil, wastewater, and biosolids, requires equipment and knowledge that some state labs do not have. Pace® is a leader in analyzing PFAS across a wide range of matrices, and we even participated in the development and validation of many of the methods used today. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. You can also request a quote to get started.