Today, Wednesday, April 10, federal and local leaders and environmental advocates gathered in Fayetteville to announce the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan, joined by Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory, came together with other state, county and city leaders and local environmental advocates at the Fayetteville Public Works Commission’s Hoffer Water Treatment Facility to announce the final national drinking water standard for PFAS. 

Leaders in attendance included: 

• EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan
• Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, The White House 
• Governor Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina
• Emily Donovan, Co-Founder, Clean Cape Fear
• Ken Cook, President, Environmental Working Group
• Mitch Colvin, Mayor, Fayetteville, North Carolina
• Josh Stein, North Carolina State Attorney General

Exposure to PFAS has been linked to deadly cancers, impacts to the liver and heart and immune and developmental damage to infants and children. 

In 2017, area residents learned that the Cape Fear River, the drinking water source for 1 million people in the region, had been heavily contaminated with PFAS pollution from a nearby Chemours manufacturing facility. 

“We learned about GenX and other PFAS in our tap water six years ago. I raised my children on this water and watched loved ones suffer from rare or recurrent cancers. No one should ever worry if their tap water will make them sick or give them cancer. I’m grateful the Biden EPA heard our pleas and kept its promise to the American people. We will keep fighting until all exposures to PFAS end and the chemical companies responsible for business-related human rights abuses are held fully accountable,” said Emily Donovan, co-founder of Clean Cape Fear.

The EPA is taking a signature step to protect public health by establishing legally enforceable levels for several PFAS known to occur individually and as mixtures in drinking water. 

This rule sets limits for five individual PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (also known as “GenX Chemicals”). The rule also sets a limit for mixtures of any two or more of four PFAS: PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and “GenX chemicals.”

The final rule is expected to reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses.

The EPA estimates that between about 6 percent and 10 percent of the 66,000 public drinking water systems subject to this rule may have to take action to reduce PFAS to meet these new standards. 

All public water systems have three years to complete their initial monitoring for these chemicals. They must inform the public of the level of PFAS measured in their drinking water. Where PFAS is found at levels that exceed these standards, systems must implement solutions to reduce PFAS in their drinking water within five years.

In addition to today’s final rule, the EPA is announcing nearly $1 billion in newly available funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and to help owners of private wells address PFAS contamination. This is part of a $9 billion investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help communities with drinking water impacted by PFAS and other emerging contaminants – the largest-ever investment in tackling PFAS pollution. An additional $12 billion is available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for general drinking water improvements, including addressing emerging contaminants like PFAS.

A full livestream of the press conference is available for the public to view. You can find it here.