WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-), Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, introduced the PFAS National Drinking Water Standard Act of 2025—bipartisan legislation to codify the Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever national primary drinking water regulation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The legislation codifies the EPA’s final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation—issued on April 26, 2024—establishing enforceable maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for six of the most hazardous PFAS chemicals, including PFOA and PFOS, in public drinking water systems. By giving this rule the full force of federal law, the bill ensures these standards remain durable, enforceable, and insulated from future regulatory uncertainty or reversal.
“This fight started at home. I’ve seen the toll PFAS contamination has taken on families across PA-1—on their health, their peace of mind, and their trust in government. I’ve spent years fighting to clean up toxic sites, secure Superfund designations, and hold polluters accountable,” said Fitzpatrick. “Now, with this bill, we are cementing the EPA’s PFAS drinking water standard into federal law—so it can never be weakened, walked back, or ignored. For families in my community and across the country, it delivers what they’ve long been denied: certainty, accountability, and the peace of mind that their water is finally safe.”
“After years of fighting, the EPA issued a rule to limit the levels of six PFAS commonly found in drinking water, an important step to keep forever chemicals out of our homes and bodies,” Dingell said. “Too many people have already suffered the adverse effects of PFAS exposure, and this standard protects more Americans from being poisoned. The EPA has said it will maintain the standard for two of the most toxic chemicals, but reconsider four others, which will enable harmful PFAS contamination to continue to spread. We must ensure we have the strongest standards possible to combat forever chemicals, which is why I’m introducing this bill with Rep. Fitzpatrick to codify a strong national PFAS drinking water standard.”
The legislation builds on the Co-Chairs’ long-standing work to hold polluters accountable. In April, Fitzpatrick and Dingell led a bipartisan letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin urging the agency to uphold the CERCLA (Superfund) designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances—a designation that strengthens EPA’s enforcement tools and ensures that those responsible for contamination, not communities or taxpayers, bear the financial burden of cleanup.
Together, these legislative and regulatory efforts represent a coordinated federal strategy to combat PFAS contamination on two fronts: remediation and prevention. While the CERCLA rule targets existing polluted sites, the PFAS National Drinking Water Standard Act ensures future exposure is limited through clear, enforceable drinking water protections.
BACKGROUND:
- PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals linked to a range of serious health risks, including cancer, developmental disorders, infertility, and immune dysfunction.
- The EPA’s April 2024 rule established first-ever enforceable federal limits for six PFAS chemicals in drinking water.
- Codifying the rule ensures regulatory stability and prevents future rollbacks regardless of changing administrations.
- The Department of Defense has already spent more than $2 billion cleaning up PFAS contamination, with significant work still needed across hundreds of military and industrial sites.
- Nearly every American has some level of PFAS in their blood, and impacted communities span all 50 states.
The PFAS National Drinking Water Standard Act reflects the bipartisan Task Force’s ongoing mission: to deliver real, enforceable solutions that protect public health, safeguard clean water, and stop the spread of PFAS contamination across the country.
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