EPA rescinds four-PFAS drinking-water rule on procedural grounds; PFOA and PFOS MCLs to remain for now
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Summary
Administrator Zeldin told the committee the agency rescinded drinking-water rules for four PFAS chemicals because of procedural errors and will undertake a new rulemaking; he said the 4 parts-per-trillion maximum contaminant level for PFOA and PFOS will be retained while the agency reconsiders other standards and compliance timelines.
Administrator Lee Zeldin told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that EPA had rescinded a finalized drinking-water regulation covering four PFAS chemicals because of a procedural error and that the agency will reopen rulemaking for those substances.
“You inherited some litigation as well, including litigation on that rule that was, finalized before I got there. There was a procedural error in the way in which they moved through the process on those four. I inherited that procedural error, and I'm going to fix it,” Zeldin told Representative Joe Morelle and other members during questioning.
Zeldin also said the agency will maintain the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS for now. When asked whether the agency might reduce that number — to, for example, 2 ppt — Zeldin said the rulemaking process for the other four chemicals will determine final values and that he has not prejudged the outcome.
Members worried about the timing and the impact. Representative Paul Tonko and others urged the agency to rely on peer-reviewed science and opposed any weakening of standards, while members from PFAS-impacted states requested information on technologies and funding to address contamination. Zeldin said companies had contacted EPA with technological approaches that could potentially break down PFAS, and he offered to share company names with the committee after vetting, but he did not endorse specific technologies in the hearing.
The administrator also said he had extended compliance timelines for PFOA and PFOS, giving water systems additional time (seven years) to comply with the rule finalized before his tenure, a change some members criticized as delaying critical protections. Zeldin said the agency inherited litigation and would pursue rulemaking to correct procedural problems and re-evaluate the other MCLs.
Members asked how funding cuts proposed in the FY2026 budget would affect communities’ ability to build treatment systems; Zeldin pointed to private-sector contacts offering new technologies and suggested he would work with Congress on funding and statutory changes where appropriate.