US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Announces Plan to Rescind 2024 PFAS National Drinking Water Standards
On May 13, 2025, the US EPA announced plans to rescind and revise its national drinking water standards for PFAS. Key highlights include:

• The EPA plans to rescind and reconsider the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for four PFAS compounds—PFHxS, PFNA, GenX, and PFBS—citing the need for further evaluation.
• EPA will uphold the existing MCLs of 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS.
• Public water systems will now have until 2031 to comply with the PFOA and PFOS standards, providing additional time for infrastructure upgrades and treatment implementation.

US EPA plans to begin a new rulemaking process in the fall and to issue a new rule next spring.

The following LSPA compliance tip was introduced at the May 2024 Membership Meeting, which was held remotely on May 16, 2024 via Zoom.  

Compliance Tip of the Month
 The U.S. EPA has promulgated MCLs for PFAS in drinking water; states are required to establish their own regulations that are no less stringent than the federal standards within two years.

Provided below is new information from both US EPA and MassDEP.

Ongoing Updates on MCP-Related Information
Watch this space on the MassDEP website for updates and “related information” on the 2024 MCP. At this time, updates include:

On May 30, 2023, the LSPA submitted comments to USEPA via the Federal eRulemaking Portal regarding the proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for PFAS, under Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0114. Read the LSPA comment letter here. This was the first time in over a decade that the LSPA has commented on a proposed USEPA rule.

This USEPA webpage provides a summary of the proposed rule, along with links to supporting materials, technical materials, and background information. A small group of LSPA members including toxicologists, public health risk assessors, and LSPs with decades of experience reviewed and provided comments on this rule. The LSPA comments were organized according to the topics outlined in the slides from this USEPA presentation, Proposed PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (epa.gov).