WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is applauding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for finalizing the first-ever national drinking water standard for per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), which represents a major step forward in the fight to combat PFAS pollution. The final rule establishes legally enforceable limits, called maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), for PFAS in drinking water. The MCLs published today reflect those called for in Senator Gillibrand’s Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act, which would have required EPA to establish a national standard for PFAS in drinking water, as well as MCLs for certain PFAS chemicals.
“It is unacceptable that toxic PFAS chemicals are infiltrating water systems in New York and across the nation,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I’m grateful that the EPA has heeded my call and for the first time is setting enforceable limits on toxic, cancer-causing PFAS chemicals contaminating our drinking water. My Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act helped lay the groundwork for EPA to set these unprecedented limits and provided direction for the new national standard. I also applaud Administrator Regan and President Biden for making nearly $1 billion in funding available to help communities comply with the rule’s requirements. Clean water is an essential right that all Americans deserve and I will continue to fight to protect our communities from the impacts of PFAS chemicals.”
For more information on the EPA’s announcement, please click here.
