Lee Zeldin’s PFAS Problem
By: Jacqueline Esposito
From small towns to big cities, we may live different lives, but we all expect the same from our leaders: clean water, safe food, and accountability when pollution harms the people and places we care about.
Across the country, the demand for protection and accountability has translated into growing support for removing PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” from our water and food supply. That has created a PFAS problem for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin: opposition is gaining momentum from clean water advocates to concerned parents, and many others.
Instead of working with communities, he’s trying to mislead people into thinking the agency’s actions benefit everyone. In reality, he’s handing wins to the chemical industry at our expense.
In direct contradiction to his own record before joining EPA, Zeldin has taken actions that are opening the floodgates for more PFAS. He knows the dangers of these toxic, synthetic compounds. Yet his record at an agency tasked with protecting public health and the environment has been devastating for those who want clean water and fewer chemicals in their lives. That’s why criticism has been so intense.
Turning a Blind Eye
PFAS contamination is not an abstract policy debate. It’s a growing problem affecting waterways that millions of people in the United States rely on for drinking water, farming, fishing, and recreation.
Recent testing by Waterkeeper Alliance and local Waterkeeper groups found one or more PFAS compounds in 98 percent of sampled waterways across 19 states, often at levels considered unsafe for human health. Communities are discovering contamination in places they never expected, from backyard wells to major rivers.
Instead of tightening regulations, the agency has turned a blind eye in the name of corporate profit and is rolling back the few safeguards we do have. Just last week, it was reported that the Trump administration drafted two proposals that would weaken national limits on PFAS in drinking water. The agency has also continued approving pesticides containing PFAS, with additional uses under review through “emergency exemptions.” For communities already struggling with contamination, these decisions raise serious concerns.
People Are Speaking Up
New polling from Pew Charitable Trusts shows that 84 percent of people say the government needs to do more to identify and regulate harmful chemicals in everyday products. This crosses political lines, regions, and ideologies. People may disagree on many things, but clean water isn’t one of them. When contamination is found, the expectation is simple: we want polluters to fix it and EPA to enforce it.
PFAS Concern Has Been Bipartisan
What makes this current moment particularly striking is that concern about PFAS has historically been bipartisan. While serving in Congress, Zeldin was part of a bipartisan PFAS Taskforce. In 2021, he supported the PFAS Action Act, legislation directing EPA to set drinking water standards and designate certain PFAS as hazardous substances. He also advocated for federal funding to remediate PFAS contamination affecting his Long Island, N.Y. district. In votes on recent National Defense Authorization Acts, he supported a clear, science-based federal definition of PFAS that is now used by many states and international bodies. He is now disavowing that definition to justify his current actions.
The Science Hasn’t Changed
Even though the science hasn’t changed, EPA claims that rollbacks on key protections and standards are justified. Waterkeeper Alliance submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the records relating to EPA’s efforts to weaken the limits for PFAS in our drinking water, but the agency has not processed it.
This isn’t about partisan politics. It’s about transparency, accountability, and enforcing the protections that are already in place. It’s about protecting children from exposure linked to cancer and other serious health effects. It’s about farmers whose soil and livestock may be contaminated. It’s about firefighters, service members, and industrial workers who should not be left carrying the burden of toxic exposure without support.
When exposure leads to illness, families shoulder the consequences. Communities face long-term contamination. And the combined health care and cleanup costs can reach billions of dollars. We are asking EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to follow the science, maintain strong drinking water standards, and ensure that polluters, not people, cover the cost of cleanup.
Communities Are Taking Action
Communities across the country are demanding action. In contrast to federal delays, state legislatures have stepped up with their own PFAS standards. Meanwhile, chemical manufacturers continue to produce PFAS, and federal policy under Lee Zeldin has favored the chemical industry over stricter protections for the public.
People want prevention, not excuses. Clean water should never be a partisan issue. It is a basic expectation in a country with the resources and expertise to address this problem at the source and prevent pollution downstream. The path forward is clear: uphold rigorous standards, increase transparency, support affected communities, and ensure accountability for contamination.
Join communities across the country and tell Lee Zeldin and the White House to stop siding with wealthy corporations polluting our air and water. Sign our action alert today!