Manufacturers Challenge EPA’s PFAS Rule

The National Association of Manufacturers and the American Chemistry Council are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s PFAS drinking water standards final rule.

The organizations filed a petition in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals June 10 opposing new individual standards for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, in municipal water systems.

“Manufacturers support commonsense regulations on PFAS that recognize the criticality of these substances across several industrial sectors—for many of these critical applications, there are no viable alternatives,” said NAM’s Linda Kelly.

“What the EPA did, however, was to bulldoze ahead with standards that set an acceptable level for PFAS at near zero—which is wholly infeasible and threatens these vital substances’ continued application in manufacturing processes.

“In doing so, the EPA relied on a deeply flawed cost-benefit analysis and failed to follow the clear-cut statutory procedures required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, among other substantive and procedural deficiencies.

“The NAM Legal Center is filing suit to overturn this unachievable standard and protect manufacturing operations and jobs across the country.”

Impact

The new rule will affect millions of people and thousands of manufacturing and other facilities that supply their own water in Connecticut and nationwide.   

At least 50 manufacturing sites in Connecticut (and many more across the northeast) are subject to the rule. 

While the rule specifically addresses PFAS in drinking water, it will have a wide- and far-reaching impact with respect to the regulation of PFAS generally, particularly as EPA and state environmental agencies are likely to rely on the new drinking water standards as support for regulating PFAS in other contexts.

PFAS have been commonly used in numerous commercial and industrial applications where their resistance to water, heat, and stains are beneficial.  

As result, PFAS have become ubiquitous in the environment and are now commonly detected in drinking water globally.  

Until now, PFAS in drinking water were regulated by a patchwork of inconsistent federal and state laws and regulations and non-enforceable administrative guidance.