The Trump administration’s move to roll back parts of Biden-era drinking water limits for PFAS chemicals is intensifying a political and public health split, even as top officials responsible for the policy appeared together at a public rollout event on Thursday highlighting the changes.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the plan during a Thursday roundtable discussion that also featured Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., underscoring the agencies’ overlapping roles in tightening and revising chemical exposure policy under the “Make America Healthy Again” banner.
Zeldin said the EPA will keep enforceable limits (4 parts per trillion) on two of the most studied PFAS compounds — PFOA and PFOS — but extend compliance deadlines from 2029 to 2031 under certain conditions.
At the same time, the EPA will rescind or reconsider standards for four other PFAS chemicals included in a Biden-era rule:
- Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)
- Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
- Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA)
- Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS)
Zeldin said the agency is pursuing a “legally defensible, practical and scientifically grounded” approach.
"Americans deserve to know that the water coming out of their tap is safe," he said.
The EPA also announced nearly $1 billion in new grant funding aimed at helping small and heavily affected communities address PFAS contamination.
Environmental advocates criticized the approach, saying it weakens protections against “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to cancer, immune system ailments and developmental harm. They included the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which said the administration was retreating from safeguards designed to reduce exposure to toxic substances in drinking water.
Water utility organizations, including the National Rural Water Association, backed aspects of the revised timeline, arguing that smaller systems need time and funding to install treatment technologies and meet federal requirements.
The EPA announcement also exposed tension within the broader MAHA-aligned public health message promoted by Kennedy, which emphasizes reducing chemical exposures as a core driver of chronic disease prevention.
Kennedy said PFAS exposure is widespread and linked it to serious health risks, saying “more than 95 percent of Americans now have PFAS chemicals in their blood … and it remains one of the primary sources of exposure.”
The Health secretary also said the administration is committed to addressing what he called a long-standing public health failure while ensuring regulations are legally sustainable.
An Associated Press report this month pointed to growing friction between that health-focused messaging and EPA regulatory actions, noting concerns from some advocates that PFAS protections could be weakened despite anti-toxin rhetoric.
A 60-day public comment period is next, with a public hearing scheduled for July.
