Authored by Edward (Ned) Witte, E&W Law Partner
On March 14, 2025, InsideEPA published an article entitled, “Awaiting New ‘Lead,’ Trump EPA Appears Uncertain On Regulating PFAS.“
Note: I am sharing the article with the permission of Inside Washington Publishers, which does not take a position on the issue presented in this blog.
The InsideEPA article includes some quotes from remarks I provided at the Air & Waste Management Association conference, “The Science of PFAS: Piecing Together the Puzzle,” which took place last week in Raleigh, NC. I was fortunate to share a panel over the lunch hour with two leaders in the PFAS field, Taryn McKnight of Eurofins and Len Mankowski of WSP Consultants. The topic of our panel was “Legal Challenges with Data Collection for PFAS-Related Matters.”
As the article notes, we are in a remarkable moment right now for federal PFAS regulation, almost like being in the eye of a hurricane. The last four years brought forward a barrage of PFAS regulations under the PFAS Strategic Roadmap, including, particularly, the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous substance listing for PFOA and PFOS and the proposed 4 ng/L maximum contaminant level for certain PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), among other initiatives. Both of these regulations were the target of lawsuits in 2024, challenging the science, the economic impacts and the rulemaking procedures. While the prior administration defended the rules, upon taking office in January of this year, the current administration requested and obtained 60-day stays to more carefully consider the rules and to determine what action it will take.
One can speculate what might happen next in regard to the CERCLA and SDWA rules, but, for now, inside this hurricane, things are rather quiet. The next few months, however, are sure to be interesting. While PFAS affects humans in a nonpartisan manner, the deregulatory philosophy that has been plain to see in this Administration would suggest that some stepping back from the current regulations would be likely. It is noteworthy, however, that in the wave of actions taken by the Zeldin EPA last Thursday, PFAS was conspicuously absent. Importantly, however, it would appear certain that taking no action to address the CERCLA and SDWA rules would not be an option for the current Administration, because when the lawsuits were brought last year, the regulatory effectiveness of the two rules was allowed to remain in place. So, within 60 days after February 10, 2025 (for the SDWA rule) and after February 24, 2025 (for the CERCLA rule), the direction this Administration will take should be clearer.
What is equally certain is that state regulatory agencies and plaintiffs initiating actions against parties, including “downstream” “PFAS users” (in contrast to manufacturers), are likely to continue to aggressively drive the PFAS process.
