WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), both of whom represent communities impacted by PFAS pollution, led 29 of their colleagues in once again calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action to stop industrial polluters from discharging dangerous PFAS chemicals into our water and air unchecked.

Pappas’s legislation, the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act, would set deadlines for the EPA to develop water quality criteria and finally set limits on industrial PFAS discharges into water and water treatment plants from nine priority industry categories.

“We recognize that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Biden administration has made strides to curb this public health crisis,” wrote the lawmakers. “However, as representatives of communities impacted by PFAS pollution, we have serious concerns with the lack of urgency to rapidly address this crisis with respect to industrial dischargers in the EPA’s updated multi-year strategic plan.”

They went on to highlight how continued delays in addressing PFAS contamination will impact affected communities, saying “[EPA’s] plan, the Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15, unfortunately falls short of the agency’s commitment in its 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap to ‘get upstream’ of the forever chemicals problem. The newly released plan will take years to complete, delaying much-needed restrictions on PFAS discharges into waterways. Polluters have been given a free pass for far too long, and our constituents deserve more aggressive action.”

They closed by calling for EPA to take more aggressive action to stop PFAS contamination, and reiterating their support for Congressional action to address EPA’s ongoing delays, “The EPA should not push back previously set deadlines for industries with known industrial discharges of PFAS or punt on developing regulations for other industries likely to be discharging PFAS. Communities living downstream and downwind of industrial PFAS polluters rightfully expect swift action from the EPA after decades of exposure.”