EPA delays PFAS drinking water cleanup until 2031, drops four limits

On May 14, 2025, the EPA announced it will extend the compliance deadline for PFOA and PFOS drinking water limits from 2029 to 2031. Water systems have two additional years before they must meet the four parts per trillion standard for these two PFAS chemicals.

The EPA kept the Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA and PFOS at four parts per trillion individually. The Maximum Contaminant Level Goal for both remains at zero, meaning no level is considered safe, but the enforceable limit is four ppt.

The EPA filed a motion in federal court to vacate portions of the 2024 rule, seeking to strike enforceable standards for four different PFAS: GenX (HFPO-DA), PFHxS, PFNA, and PFBS. These chemicals had limits of 10 parts per trillion under the original rule.

More than 73 million Americans are served by water systems that have detected PFAS levels above the limits the EPA now seeks to rescind or delay. These communities face continued exposure while legal and regulatory battles play out.

The Biden administration set the first-ever enforceable PFAS drinking water limits in April 2024, requiring community water systems to find alternative sources or install filtration to remove the chemicals. The original compliance deadline was 2029.

The Safe Drinking Water Act has a strong anti-backsliding provision that prohibits the EPA from weakening any drinking water standard once it is set. Environmental groups argue this makes the EPA's proposed rescission illegal.

The EPA plans to issue a proposed rule this fall and finalize it by spring 2026. The rulemaking will formally extend the PFOA and PFOS deadline while dropping requirements for the other four chemicals.

EEarthjustice called the EPA's plan illegal and announced it would fight the rollback in court. The EPEnvironmental Protection Network, made up of former EPA officials, condemned the decision for leaving millions exposed to toxic forever chemicals.