WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) voted in favor of the PFAS Action Act of 2021. Kuster helped to introduce this legislation, alongside Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12), which would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a maximum contaminant level goal for PFAS and establish national drinking water safeguards for PFAS chemicals. The legislation includes Rep. Kuster’s Protecting Communities from New PFAS Act, to prevent new PFAS chemicals from being approved through the EPA’s pre-manufacture notice system.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS chemicals, are man-made chemicals that have so far been found in the drinking water of more than 2,000 communities. PFAS chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. These chemicals have been linked to harmful human health effects, including cancer, reproductive and developmental harms, and weaken immune systems.

“PFAS chemicals, or ‘forever chemicals,’ pose a serious threat to the health and wellbeing of communities in the Granite State and across the country,” said Rep. Kuster. “The PFAS Action Act of 2021 answers urgent calls for action and takes critical, purposeful steps to protect Americans from these dangerous chemicals. The bill includes language from my legislation, the Protecting Communities from New PFAS Act, to turn off the tap for new PFAS chemicals making their way through the EPA approval process. I urge the Senate to take swift action on this much-needed legislation to bring it over the finish line and protect communities in New Hampshire and across the country.”

A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Kuster has been vocal about the need to address PFAS and other water contaminants in New Hampshire. In December, she led a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committees in support of robust funding to protect communities from harmful PFAS chemicals. Kuster co-sponsored a previous version of this legislation that passed the House in the 116th Congress.

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