Changing or Staying the Same? EPA Announces Actions to Combat PFAS Contamination

On April 28, 2025, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a list of actions EPA will take to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. It was unclear whether EPA under the new administration would deprioritize PFAS as part of an overall deregulatory agenda, but in the announcement, Administrator Zeldin asserted that EPA will continue to address PFAS contamination through scientific study, regulation, and enforcement.

Notably, EPA will designate an agency lead for PFAS “to better align and manage PFAS efforts across agency programs.” The announcement also emphasizes that a “polluter pays model” will guide “a lot of the work to be done at EPA in the future.” This “polluter pays” approach appears to be animated in part by a concern that public drinking water systems will face challenges in complying with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations that went into effect last June for six PFAS compounds: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS, and HFPO-DA.

Among the 21 separate actions listed in the announcement, several relate to drinking water. The EPA will:

• “Address the most significant compliance challenges and requests from Congress and drinking water systems related to national primary drinking water regulations for certain PFAS”
• “Work with Congress and industry to establish a clear liability framework that operates on polluter pays and protects passive receivers”
• “Advance remediation and cleanup efforts where drinking water supplies are impacted by PFAS contamination”
• “Use Safe Drinking Water Act authority to investigate and address immediate endangerment”

The announcement notes that Administrator Zeldin “personally heard from Members of Congress on passive receiver issues where local water utilities will foot the bill for contamination and pass those costs onto consumers.”

According to Administrator Zeldin’s announcement, EPA will continue, and even expand, its enforcement authority to address PFAS. Among other statutory authorities cited, EPA will determine how better to use its authorities under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to address releases from operations “of both producers and users of PFAS”; will enforce the Clean Water Act and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) limitations; and will develop and evaluate effluent limitations guidelines to reduce PFAS discharges, including effluent limitations guidelines for PFAS manufacturers and metal finishers in particular.

With respect to reporting obligations, EPA intends to add more PFAS compounds to the Toxic Release Inventory, which currently includes 205 PFAS compounds subject to reporting by certain facilities. At the same time, the agency appears concerned about the burden of TSCA Section 8(a)(7) reporting. Under that rule, companies that have manufactured or imported PFAS or articles containing PFAS must report certain data going back to 2011. Compliance with the reporting requirement — which applies to over 13,000 PFAS and has no exceptions for products with de minimis amounts of PFAS or for small businesses — is projected to cost industry nearly $1 billion. With the reporting window approaching (most companies must report between July 2025 and January 2026, and small businesses that only import articles containing PFAS will have an extra six months), Administrator Zeldin’s announcement suggests that EPA will take action to modify the regulatory reporting requirements under TSCA Section 8(a)(7) “to smartly collect necessary information … without overburdening small businesses and article importers.”

Other stated priorities include “strengthening the science” around PFAS by gathering data on air emissions and contamination and developing additional PFAS testing methods; completing risk assessments to “prevent further contamination”; and updating on an annual basis (rather than every three years) the PFAS Destruction and Disposal Guidance as EPA continues to assess the efficacy of available treatment technologies.

Our team will continue to follow and report on developments in this area, including any new enforcement actions or initiatives, rules, and updates to PFAS-related guidance. Please feel free to reach out to any of us or your Arnold & Porter contacts for further information.

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2025 All Rights Reserved. This Blog post is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.