UPDATE, May 14, 2025: This story has been updated with EPA’s Wednesday announcement.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to weaken a Biden-era rule that established nationwide limits on six types of forever chemicals in drinking water.
In a Wednesday press release, the EPA said the agency intends to rescind the rule’s limits on four of the six types of forever chemicals, including GenX, which has been used by chemical manufacturers in West Virginia.
Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to several serious health conditions, including cancer, liver and kidney damage, developmental problems and immune system disorders.
The EPA’s announcement was met with criticism by public health experts and environmental groups.
“With this action, EPA is making clear that it’s willing to ignore Americans who just want to turn on their kitchen taps and have clean, safe water,” said Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the National Resource Defense Council.
The federal agency also said that it will keep the limits for two types of forever chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, adding that it plans to extend the original compliance deadline from 2029 to 2031.
The EPA will also establish what the agency called “a federal exemption framework” and initiate outreach with water systems to help address compliance challenges.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency’s moves “provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance.”
Wednesday’s announcement comes after the Trump EPA asked for another delay in explaining to a federal court its plans for the rule setting limits of forever chemicals in drinking water.
In a motion filed Monday the federal agency asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for an additional 21-day delay to allow the groups involved to discuss and possibly reach an agreement on the steps moving forward. The agency also cited its anticipated decision on the rule being challenged as reasoning for the request for more time.
The rule, which was finalized last year, set the first legally enforceable limits for six types of PFAS, otherwise known as forever chemicals, in drinking water and gave water systems five years to comply.
A coalition of water utilities and chemical industry groups then challenged the rule in June 2024, arguing that the federal agency violated the Safe Drinking Water Act by failing to consider “critical data” in establishing the rule.
The groups also criticized the added financial burden associated with the costs to comply with the new regulations established by the rule.
The EPA, under the Biden administration, initially defended the rule, but in February, now under a new administration, asked for a 60-day pause to allow the agency’s new leadership to review the case. In April, the agency asked for another delay, this time for 30 days.
In Wednesday’s announcement, the EPA said it will support the U.S. Justice Department’s defense of the rule’s limits on PFOA and PFOS.
This rule is one of the first established to begin to address the emergence of forever chemicals contamination, which has had a long history in West Virginia.
A 2022 state study found that the levels of four types of forever chemicals exceeded safe limits in the water supply of 136 public water systems. The study also found that forever chemicals contamination in public water is a wide-spread issue impacting communities all over West Virginia.
The West Virginia Legislature tasked the state Department of Environmental Protection to tackle such contamination in 2023. The state agency is required to identify sources of the chemicals in drinking water and develop plans to address the contamination.
But the DEP lost the funding it was using to tackle forever chemicals after the grant was canceled by the EPA in March. The $1 million federal grant was funding a project focused in communities with the highest levels of forever chemicals in their water.
The future of another rule aimed at addressing forever chemicals also hangs in the balance as the court waits for EPA decision on how to proceed.
Last year, the EPA also finalized a rule that designated two types of forever chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, which could make a wide range of industries liable for cleanups. That rule was also challenged by the chemical industry and other business and industry stakeholders.
After asking for a delay in that case proceeding to review the rule and case, the federal agency has until May 30 to tell the court its next steps.
Last month, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin outlined several moves by the agency to address forever chemicals, including contamination in drinking water, but did not mention the two forever chemicals rules.
Public health experts and environmental groups expressed skepticism, citing concerns that the steps outlined by Zeldin won’t adequately address forever chemicals.