After Wave of Environmental Regulation Rollbacks, Trump Administration Announces PFAS-Combatting Initiatives
Initiatives to Combat PFAS Announced After Environmental Regulation Rollbacks
The second Trump term has already been marked by significant environmental deregulation, including targeting major climate change, energy efficiency, environmental justice, and air pollution policies established over the decades since the first wave of environmental regulatory schemes began in the 1970s.[1] These rollbacks have been compounded by reductions in the EPA workforce and budget, including the agency’s scientific research division.[2] The reduction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a prime concern for the Biden-era EPA, had also seemingly been identified as a lower priority under the new EPA administrator Lee Zeldin. In February 2025, the agency requested and was granted a 60-day stay in two pending lawsuits challenging the Biden-era PFAS regulations, citing a need for the agency to reevaluate the contested rules.[3] The two cases address the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for six types of PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the designation of two types of PFAS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
The agency then seemed to swing in the opposite direction, announcing on April 28 a series of broad-reaching initiatives to combat PFAS substances in America’s soil, air and water.[4] The press release describes a multi-part approach to combatting PFAS contamination: strengthening scientific understanding of how PFAS enters the environment and the most effective mechanisms for its removal, the need to coordinate efforts across local and federal levels, an emphasis on holding industry producers accountable and protecting passive receivers, like public water systems, and the agency’s intention to develop effluent limitations for PFAS discharges. The plan will depend in large part on the regulatory authority granted to EPA through several existing environmental statutes: the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Safe Drinking Water Act, with EPA specifically calling out its ability to enforce PFAS limits through its authority under the CWA and TSCA. The plan also includes a provision for financial assistance to states and tribes for their enforcement efforts.
However, the press release does not provide information on the timelines for these initiatives to begin, worrying environmental groups who see the plan as lacking substance. Others see the plan’s emphasis on data gathering and scientific research improbable with the slashing of the EPA’s workforce and scientific research arm. Further, the EPA announced in a May 14 press release that it would begin the rulemaking process to rescind and reconsider the standards for four of the PFAS types targeted by the Biden-era MCL regulation, and give water utilities two additional years—until 2031—to meet the new limits for the other two types, PFOS and PFOA.[5] The press release cited the need for protecting Americans from PFOA and PFOS while also providing flexibility in compliance.
Both the April 28 and May 14 press releases were silent on the agency’s position as to the hazardous substance designation of the two forms of PFAS under CERCLA. For now, the proposed PFAS initiatives indicate somewhat of a break with the agency’s significant regulatory rollbacks, but, without more concrete details on the implementation of the actions outlined in the April 28 press release, it remains to be seen how the second Trump administration will deal with the challenge of PFAS contamination.
[1] “EPA Launches Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History,” EPA, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history (March 12, 2025).
[2] “EPA Announces Next Phase of Organizational Improvements to Better Integrate Science into Agency Offices, Deliver Clean Air, Land, and Water to All Americans,” EPA, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-next-phase-organizational-improvements-better-integrate-science-agency (May 2, 2025).
[3] “Court Pauses PFAS Drinking Water Limits Lawsuit at EPA’s Request,” Bloomberg Law, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/court-pauses-pfas-drinking-water-limits-lawsuit-at-epas-request (February 10, 2025).
[4] “Administrator Zeldin Announces Major EPA Actions to Combat PFAS Contamination,” EPA, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/administrator-zeldin-announces-major-epa-actions-combat-pfas-contamination (April 28, 2025).
[5] “EPA Announces It Will Keep Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA, PFOS,” EPA, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-it-will-keep-maximum-contaminant-levels-pfoa-pfos (May 14, 2025).
Stafford Rosenbaum LLP is a full-service law firm with two convenient office locations in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over 145 years of dedication to businesses, governments, nonprofits, and individuals has proven that effective client communication continues to be the heart of our practice.
