State Legislators Support EPA’s Proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

Today more than 270 state legislators from 39 states and territories submitted a comment letter to the Environmental Protection Agency strongly supporting the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water under the authority of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Minnesota Representative Rick Hansen spearheaded the letter.

EPA’s proposal to set strong drinking water standards for six PFAS is an important step toward fulfilling the Biden Administration’s commitment to tackle these toxic forever chemicals. State legislators across the country commend EPA’s recognition that both individual PFAS and chemical mixtures of PFAS can threaten human health. 

“Nobody wants PFAS in the water they drink or in their own bodies,” said Representative Rick Hansen, chair of the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Committee. “I applaud the EPA for taking action to regulate these toxic forever chemicals and these national standards are an important first step. We must take action now to prevent PFAS pollution everywhere we can—prevention is better than clean-up.”

For decades, PFAS have been used in thousands of applications, and a peer-reviewed study estimates that PFAS may be present in the drinking water of more than 200 million people across the country. States have been leading the charge in regulating PFAS. This year alone, 35 states are considering over 200 pieces of legislation to regulate PFAS in water, consumer products, and food packaging.

However, national standards are needed to protect the health of our communities and state legislators recognize this as an important step towards urgently needed action to address PFAS contamination and exposure. 

The full text of the letter and a list of signatures is available here.

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Created by and for state legislators, the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that organizes over 1,200 environmentally-committed state legislators from all 50 states and both parties. NEC provides venues and opportunities for lawmakers to share ideas and collaborate on environmental issues.