EPA Proposes Rollback of Reporting Requirements Amid PFAS Concerns

The EPA has proposed a rollback of reporting requirements for businesses that make or use per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The public comment period is currently open and will close on December 29.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated the changes aim to ease the regulatory burden on companies, arguing that the current rules impose nearly one billion dollars in implementation costs on American businesses.

However, environmental advocates, including Stephanie Schweickert of the NC Conservation Network, warn that this proposal would eliminate more than ninety-seven percent of the information that the current rule would have generated, endangering public health, particularly in North Carolina.

Recent research from Duke University has revealed hidden PFAS sources in industrial wastewater that standard monitoring fails to detect, raising concerns about existing regulatory blind spots. The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, which serves over 200,000 customers in New Hanover County, expressed worries that weakened reporting would complicate their efforts to provide safe drinking water.

The authority spent forty-three million dollars on a filtration system in 2022 to remove PFAS from the water supply. Advocates argue that the rollbacks would allow industries to avoid reporting their use of PFAS, including hazardous byproducts, worsening the public health crisis associated with these chemicals.

PFAS exposure has been linked to numerous health issues, including immune system suppression and certain cancers. The EPA's proposed changes are viewed as a step back from their mission to protect public and environmental health, according to Robert Bullard, a professor at Texas Southern University.

The public comment period is open until December 29, 2023, and comments can be submitted through the EPA's regulations website.