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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) released the following statement in support of the EPA’s action to establish the first-ever national drinking water standard for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
 
“In Michigan we know all too well the urgent, growing public health and environmental threat PFAS poses. This national drinking water standard, which I have long fought for and is a central goal of my bipartisan PFAS Action Act, takes a long-needed, important step to keep PFAS out of our homes and out of our drinking water.”
 
“This final rule regulates two of the most widely used and notoriously harmful PFAS – something I’ve worked toward since my first day in Congress. This will give EPA more authority and the tools needed to clean up highly contaminated PFAS sites.”
 
“I thank the Biden Administration and EPA for their continued commitment to ensuring clean and safe drinking water for all Americans and for prioritizing the fight against PFAS. I will continue to work every day in Congress, with the Administration, and with our state and local leaders to implement this rule, and to eliminate PFAS from our products and environment. We must continue to take aggressive action and a whole-of-government approach to clean up PFAS from communities across America that have been exposed for generations, and prevent the future spread of these toxic forever chemicals.”
 
The final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation will establish an enforceable maximum contaminant level (MCL) standard of 4 parts per trillion for both PFOS and PFOA—the most notoriously harmful variants known to appear in drinking water. It will regulate other types of PFAS — PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX — and their mixtures with an enforceable MCL standard of 10 parts per trillion. It also will require public water systems to monitor for these PFAS, notify the public of the levels of these PFAS, and reduce the levels of these PFAS in drinking water if they exceed the standard with a phased in approach over the next five years. In addition, EPA has made available nearly $1 billion in funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and to help communities who source water from private wells address PFAS contamination.
 
PFAS chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic—and can be found in some level in nearly everyone’s bodies today. These chemicals have been linked to harmful human health effects, including increased cholesterol levels, changes in liver enzymes, decreases in infant birth weights, and increased risk of certain cancers.
 
Dingell has long led the fight against PFAS as the author of the PFAS Action Act, which includes establishing a strong national drinking water standard. Dingell also leads the PFAS Alternatives Act, Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act, and No PFAS in Cosmetics Act.