1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

I am writing to share an important update on the EPA's early this month announcement about microplastics that I think PSR might be interested in. Earlier this month, Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the EPA is including microplastics on the draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6). Here is our press statement. This is a step in the right direction, as it officially identifies microplastics as contaminants known or likely to occur in public water systems that may require future regulation. However, it is not enough on its own. We need monitoring data now. The EPA must include microplastics on the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6). UCMR 6 is the mechanism that would actually require nationwide monitoring in our drinking water sooner rather than later. If microplastics are not on UCMR 6—which is currently at the White House for review and due to be finalized by the end of 2026—we won’t get the data we urgently need to understand the true scale of this crisis now. Our coalition has been pushing for monitoring for years. Following our 2024 petition, we successfully campaigned to have seven state governors petition the EPA for this exact monitoring. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA is required to include a contaminant in the UCMR if seven governors request it unless it would prevent the monitoring of a more concerning contaminant. Next Steps: Please sign on as a chapter and share with your circles our Health Professionals sign-on letter: https://fwaction.us/4rkn2kL so we can boost the numbers of health professionals urging the EPA to include microplastics in UCMR 6. The deadline is May 14, 2026. It is not too late to act. The draft UCMR6 is currently under White House review, so now is our moment. Join us in urging the EPA to include microplastics on