On May 14, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the agency will keep the current National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) for PFOA and PFOS. As part of this action, EPA also announced its intent to extend the PFOA and PFOS Maximum Contaminant Level compliance deadline and establish a federal exemption framework. Additionally, EPA announced its intent to rescind the regulations and reconsider the regulatory determinations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture of these three PFAS plus PFBS to ensure the determinations and any resulting drinking water regulation follow the Safe Drinking Water Act process.
As previously reported, last April the EPA announced the final NPDWR for a variety of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS is the broad term that refers to a group of thousands of man-made chemicals that have been linked to various health problems. This was the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard designed to protect communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” This regulation established legally enforceable levels, called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for various PFAS in drinking water. A report from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) released in January estimated it would cost local waterworks between $643 million and $904 million in capital expenditures to comply with the rule by the deadline of 2029. Furthermore, VDH estimates operational expenditures would be between $72 million and $88 million annually and ongoing compliance costs would total $.7 million.
EPA plans to develop new rulemaking to enact changes. The proposed rule should be available this fall, and the agency is hoping to finalize the rule in the spring of 2026. VACo will continue to follow federal regulations regarding PFAS as they become available.
VACo Contact: James Hutzler