U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on May 14, 2025, that the agency will keep the current National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), which set national limits for these chemicals in drinking water.
“The work to protect Americans from PFAS in drinking water started under the first Trump Administration and will continue under my leadership,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin in an EPA press release. “We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water.”
As part of this action, EPA is announcing its intent to extend compliance deadlines for PFOA and PFOS, establish a federal exemption framework, and initiate enhanced outreach to water systems, especially in rural and small communities, through EPA’s new PFAS OUTreach Initiative (PFAS OUT). This action would help address the most significant compliance challenges EPA has heard from public water systems, members of Congress, and other stakeholders, while supporting actions to protect the American people from certain PFAS in drinking water.
Paired with effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for PFAS and other tools to ensure that polluters are held responsible, EPA’s actions are designed to reduce the burden on drinking water systems and the cost of water bills, all while continuing to protect public health and ensure that the agency is following the law in establishing impactful regulations such as these.
Reconsideration of other PFAS compounds
EPA is also announcing its intent to rescind the regulations and reconsider the regulatory determinations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture of these three plus PFBS to ensure that the determinations and any resulting drinking water regulation follow the legal process laid out in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Update to timeline
On April 10, 2024, EPA announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, including standards for PFOA and PFOS. At that time, EPA established legally enforceable levels for these PFAS in drinking water and gave public water systems until 2029 to comply with the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).
To allow drinking water systems more time to develop plans for addressing PFOA and PFOS where they are found and implement solutions, EPA plans to develop a rulemaking to provide additional time for compliance, including a proposal to extend the compliance date to 2031. EPA plans to issue a proposed rule this fall and finalize this rule in the Spring of 2026. Aligned with the agency’s intent to provide additional compliance time for water systems, EPA encourages states seeking primacy for implementing the PFAS drinking water regulation to request additional time from EPA to develop their applications. At the same time, EPA will support the U.S. Department of Justice in defending ongoing legal challenges to the PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation with respect to PFOA and PFOS.
“At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance,” said Administrator Zeldin in an EPA press release. “This will support water systems across the country, including small systems in rural communities, as they work to address these contaminants. EPA will also continue to use its regulatory and enforcement tools to hold polluters accountable.”
Enhancing stakeholder engagement
To enhance engagement on addressing PFAS, EPA will launch PFAS OUT to connect with every public water utility known to need capital improvements to address PFAS in their systems, including those EPA has identified as having PFOA and PFOS levels above EPA’s MCL. EPA will share resources, tools, funding, and technical assistance to help utilities meet the federal drinking water standards.
PFAS OUT will engage utilities, technical assistance providers and local, State, Tribal, and Territorial leaders to develop effective, practical solutions where they are needed most.
EPA stated it will continue to offer free water technical assistance (WaterTA) that provides services to water systems to improve their drinking water and help communities access available funding. EPA’s WaterTA initiatives work with water systems nationwide to identify affordable solutions to assess and address PFAS, including PFOA and PFOS. Services offered to utilities include water quality testing, development of technical plans, operator training support, designing public engagement and outreach strategies, and support for accessing federal funding opportunities.
