Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newly announced Strategic Roadmap to confront PFAS contamination, which is designed to restrict additional chemicals from being released into the environment and bolster clean up efforts at contaminated sites.

“For years, states have been left to fend for themselves when it comes to identifying and responding to PFAS contaminations. That’s left some states like Massachusetts responding to these forever chemicals with urgency while others fail to do the same,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “It’s long past time for federal PFAS standards to catch up, and today’s announcement by the EPA is a critical step in that direction. However, we can’t stop there. The House has already passed the PFAS Action Act to bolster the EPA’s ability to tackle PFAS contaminations and prevent future discharges, and we need the Senate to act with urgency to send it to President Biden’s desk to become law.”

“For far too long, families across America – especially those in underserved communities – have suffered from PFAS in their water, their air, or in the land their children play on,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This comprehensive, national PFAS strategy will deliver protections to people who are hurting, by advancing bold and concrete actions that address the full lifecycle of these chemicals. Let there be no doubt that EPA is listening, we have your back, and we are laser focused on protecting people from pollution and holding polluters accountable.”

PFAS chemicals are manmade and have been used in common products such as firefighting foam, non-stick cookware, water resistant clothing, cleaning products, paints and sealants, personal care products, and cosmetics since the 1940s. Manufacturers and distributors of products containing PFAS have known for decades about the dangers the chemicals pose to people’s health but done little about it. In fact, despite warnings, some companies were dumping so much PFAS into waterways that they couldn’t keep track of the exact amount. These “forever chemicals” have been discovered in the drinking water of more than 2,000 communities nationwide, including in 50 public water sources reported in Massachusetts this year alone. 

The EPA’s Strategic Roadmap announced today includes strict timelines to set enforceable drinking water limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act, a new hazardous substance designation to strengthen the Agency’s ability to hold PFAS polluters financially accountable, a review of past actions on PFAS to address those that are insufficient, and support for ongoing efforts to address PFAS air emissions. Alongside the national strategy, the EPA also announced a new national testing strategy, which requires forever chemical manufacturers to provide toxicity data and important additional information on PFAS chemicals.

The Biden-Harris administration has made addressing the dangers posed by PFAS a priority, and including today’s announcement, has done more than almost any administration in history. However, the EPA continues to be limited in the actions it can take under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. Understanding this pressing issue and the need for long overdue updates to the law that will bolster the EPA’s ability to protect people from PFAS contamination, the House took up and passed H.R. 2467, the PFAS Action Act of 2021, legislation that Trahan helped shepherd through the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Specifically, the PFAS Action Act would:

• Stem the flow of PFAS contamination into the environment by requiring cleanup of sites contaminated with PFOA and PFOS – two of the most hazardous PFAS chemicals – as well as setting air emission limits, prohibiting unsafe incineration of PFAS, and limiting the introduction of new PFAS chemicals into commerce;
• Identify health risks by requiring comprehensive health testing for all PFAS, reporting of PFAS releases, and monitoring for PFAS in drinking water;
• Inform communities of PFAS risks by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a risk-communication strategy and establish a website with information on testing of household well water;
• Limit human exposure to PFAS by requiring a drinking water standard for PFAS that protects public health, including the health of vulnerable subpopulations like pregnant women, infants, and children, and holding polluters accountable;
• Provide grants to impacted water systems, create a voluntary label for cookware that is PFAS free, provide guidance for first responders to limit their exposures, and require effluent limitations and pretreatment standards for PFAS introduction or discharge.

The legislation, which is supported by the White House, passed the House with support of nearly two dozen Republicans and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Trahan testified in August about the importance of getting the PFAS Action Act across the finish line and signed into law during a hearing hosted by Massachusetts PFAS Interagency Task Force, chaired by State Representative Kate Hogan (D-3^rd Middlesex) and State Senator Julian Cyr (D-Cape and Islands).

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