The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing the PFAS Action Plan: Program Update. Over the past year, EPA has made significant progress under the Action Plan to help states and local communities address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and protect public health and the agency鈥檚 Program Update highlights those efforts.
鈥淭he Trump Administration鈥檚 efforts under the PFAS Action Plan over the past year represent the first time in EPA鈥檚 50-year history that we have tapped all of our program offices to address an emerging contaminant of concern like PFAS 鈥� and our EPA staff efforts have been unprecedented,鈥澛爏aid EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.聽鈥淎s we look to the future, we are committed to working diligently with our federal, state, local and tribal partners as we continue to make progress on this important public health issue.鈥�
From issuing groundwater cleanup guidance to proposing a positive regulatory determination for both perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), EPA has made progress under every aspect of the Action Plan. The actions EPA has taken reflect the comprehensive and coordinated approach that was outlined in the February 2019 PFAS Action Plan. Some key highlights from the past year include:
- On February 20, 2020, EPA issued聽preliminary determinations to regulate聽PFOA and PFOS in drinking water.
- On February 20, 2020, EPA issued a聽supplemental proposal聽to ensure that new uses of certain persistent long-chain PFAS chemicals in surface coatings cannot be manufactured or imported into the United States without notification and review under TSCA.
- On December 19, 2019, EPA accomplished a key milestone in the PFAS Action Plan by publishing a聽new validated method聽to accurately test for 11 additional PFAS in drinking water bringing the total to 29 PFAS.
- On December 19, 2019, EPA issued聽聽Interim Recommendations for Addressing Groundwater Contaminated with PFOA and PFOS,聽which provide guidance for federal cleanup programs (e.g., the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) that will also be helpful to states and tribes.
- On November 22, 2019, EPA announced availability of $4.8 million in聽funding for new research on managing PFAS in agriculture.
- On November 25, 2019, EPA issued an聽advanced notice of proposed rulemaking聽that would allow the public to provide input on adding PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory toxic chemical list.