Compromising Tap Water Safety: Block EPA From Weakening Toxic Safety Limits

I am writing to express my profound opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s newly proposed rulemakings that roll back critical federal drinking water protections against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This sudden reversal represents a critical failure of institutional competency and an arbitrary departure from science-based public safety standards. In 2024, after decades of exhaustive research and advocacy, the federal government established clear, enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels for toxic forever chemicals. The EPA's current proposal to completely rescind standards for four of these hazardous compounds and to eliminate the critical Hazard Index safeguard for chemical mixtures directly undermines the agency's statutory mandate to protect the nation's water supply. Furthermore, delaying compliance deadlines until 2031 forces the American public to wait years longer for safe drinking water while allowing polluters to evade accountability. Epidemiological data demonstrates that PFAS exposure, even at micro-levels, is conclusively linked to increased cancer rates, immune system suppression, and severe developmental risks for pregnant women and infants. Weakening these established thresholds creates an unconstitutional disparate impact on vulnerable communities, particularly low-income and rural districts whose local water utilities lack the independent capital to install advanced filtration systems without firm federal enforcement. A core tenet of the rule of law is that regulatory policy must remain predictable, neutral, and grounded in empirical data. Arbitrarily dismantling finalized, legally sound public health standards is an abdication of governance. I urge you to exercise your Article I oversight authority to investigate the legality of this rollback, demand that the EPA preserve the 2024 standards, and introduce legislation to codify enforceable PFAS limits into federal law.