Energy & Environment

Trump proposes partial rollback of ‘forever chemical’ drinking water protections

Comments:

by Rachel Frazin - 05/18/26 3:00 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

by Rachel Frazin - 05/18/26 3:00 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

NOW PLAYING

The Trump administration on Monday moved to partially roll back drinking water protections from toxic “forever chemicals.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to allow some delays for water systems to regulate these chemicals.

It also said it would rescind four of the six types of forever chemicals covered under a Biden-era rule.

Under that Biden-era regulation, water systems are required to filter out at least some of these toxic substances by a 2029 deadline.

Now, the administration is proposing to allow companies to apply for extensions to push that deadline back to 2031, meaning some communities could end up drinking contaminated water for up to two extra years.

An EPA official told reporters that extensions would be granted on a case-by-case basis and that even with an extension, systems with high levels of contamination would need to take interim measures to reduce it. The official declined to say whether most companies that apply for an extension would be likely to receive one.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday described the approach as realistic and legally durable. He appeared at the agency alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Critics argued that the EPA’s action would remove health protections.

At the same time, the delay is less dramatic compared to what the administration had previously floated.

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that it would push back the deadline for all water systems to filter out these toxic chemicals by two years from 2029 to 2031.

“Forever chemicals” has become a nickname for a family of chemicals also known as PFAS because they tend to linger in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years instead of breaking down.

These chemicals have leached into large swaths of the environment and a significant portion of U.S. drinking water – creating a major environmental and health problem.

Exposure to PFAS has been linked to illnesses including kidney and testicular cancer as well as other health problems including fertility and immune system issues.

There are thousands of chemicals that fall under the PFAS umbrella. When it issued the first ever drinking water standards for PFAS, the Biden administration regulated six types, known as PFOA, PFOS, GenX, PFNA, PFHxS and PFBS.

The Trump administration kept in place the standards for PFOA and PFOS, some of the most well-studied and highly toxic PFAS.

It rescinded standards for the other four.

In general, Democratic administrations have been more supportive of regulations on chemicals while Republican administrations have supported deregulating business and the environment.

Politically, however, the right-wing Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, has been critical of chemicals including PFAS and have sought to push to rein them in.

This story was updated at 3:55 p.m.

Add as preferred source on Google