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WASHINGTON, DC –Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) questioned US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler on the agency’s inaction to address PFAS contamination nationwide and establish a national drinking water standard.

Video of Dingell questioning EPA Administrator Wheeler is found here.

“A non-enforceable, PFAS health advisory is not the same as a drinking water standard. The EPA has failed to act swiftly and appropriately to respond to the public health and environmental emergency PFAS poses nationwide. This is clearly reflected in the EPA’s budget request for fiscal year 2021,” said Dingell. “Michigan is ground zero for PFAS contamination but more states will find it when they look. The Administration has put forward a PFAS Action Plan but the American people need more action and leadership from this administration to set a national drinking water standard, designate these PFAS has hazardous substances under the Superfund program, and much more. This is a crisis that demands clarity and certainty, instead the EPA has proposed massive cuts across the board. We count on EPA to protect human health and our environment. Further inaction only means more people will continue to be poisoned and contamination will persist.”

Dingell is a passionate advocate for clean and safe drinking water. Calling for everyone to learn from the Flint Water Crisis, Dingell is active in the response to PFAS contamination in Michigan and across the country. In January, the House passed Dingell’s bipartisan, comprehensive legislation, the PFAS Action Act, to address the toxic forever chemicals, including listing PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the EPA’s Superfund program to accelerate the clean-up process at military facilities and in communities across the country.

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