Waterkeeper Alliance Applauds New EPA Rule to Hold Major Polluters Accountable For PFAS Contamination

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a groundbreaking new rule to designate two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) –  perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) – as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Following decades of inaction, big industry polluters and federal facilities will now be accountable for releasing dangerous PFAS into our environment and contributing to a growing public health crisis.

Since the 1950s, PFAS chemicals have been widely used across consumer, commercial, and industrial products, and have polluted our waterways via manufacturers who have benefited from lack of regulation and loopholes. As a result, this preventable contamination is so pervasive that these chemicals frequently appear in human blood and have been linked to cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage in infants and children.

This rule is a significant step forward in regulating toxic PFAS pollution by holding major industry polluters accountable for their pollution in order to protect the health of local waterways and communities across the country. Along with the new regulation, EPA announced an important enforcement discretion policy that protects farmers, water utilities, airports, and local fire departments where equitable factors do not support seeking CERCLA cleanup or costs.

Waterkeeper Alliance CEO, Marc Yaggi, applauds this important action and calls for strong enforcement:

“The ‘polluter pays principle’ is foundational, and with the new EPA rule designating PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances under CERCLA, responsible parties can finally be held accountable for reporting and cleaning up their pollution. We applaud EPA’s action, enabling swift response to known hazards, contamination cleanup, and safeguarding drinking water supplies. With its authorities and the Enforcement Discretion Policy, EPA can protect farmers, water utilities, airports, fire departments, and others that have been forced to deal with the widespread PFAS pollution they did not create, ensuring accountability rests where it belongs.”

Last year, Waterkeeper Alliance released the findings of a groundbreaking analysis of American waterways that found that 83 percent of the 114 waterways tested across the country were found to contain at least one type of these dangerous forever chemicals including PFOA and PFOS.