EPA proposes maximum contaminant levels for PFAS – Riverkeeper statement
March 14, 2023
Riverkeeper Team
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it would set health-protective limits for several perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water at concentrations close to zero, establishing the first federal limits on pollution from the class of synthetic chemicals known as PFAS.
Riverkeeper has supported health-protective PFAS standards such as those EPA proposed today. “We've seen that PFAS contaminate many drinking water supplies in New York State, especially in the lower and mid-Hudson Valley,” said Dan Shapley, Riverkeeper Co-Director, Science and Patrol. “Once in force, these new federal standards will mean many more water systems will require treatment, and many more of our neighbors will be protected from exposure to these risky ‘forever chemicals.’ Having strong federal standards in place should also significantly help drive a more thorough cleanup of contamination at the Stewart Air National Guard Base near Newburgh.”
The newly proposed drinking water limits for six PFAS compounds marks an important and long-awaited milestone toward finalizing national protections. In light of New York State’s less-protective standards for PFAS, relative to the new federal proposal, we call on Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Health to initiate actions to bring state standards into harmony with the EPA’s more protective proposed standards for PFOA and PFOS, and finalize new state-level protections for 23 PFAS additional chemicals.
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Media contact: Leah Rae, lrae@riverkeeper.org