Capito, Tillis urge EPA to create enforceable federal drinking water standards

U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) joined 18 U.S. Senate colleagues in seeking enforceable federal limits on two toxic chemicals found in the nation’s drinking water.

In a Feb. 1 bipartisan letter sent to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the senators insisted that the EPA develop federal drinking water standards for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), including the chemical known as GenX, as part of the agency’s national management plan for this class of chemicals, according to Sens. Capito and Tillis and their colleagues.

“In the absence of federal standards, states have been forced to create their own drinking water regulations for PFAS,” the senators wrote. “This uncoordinated process has led to a patchwork of conflicting drinking water standards and guidelines in nine states with widely varying maximum contaminant levels.”

Such divergent standards, they said, also “have caused confusion among regulated entities and affected communities who wonder if their regulations are sufficient.”

Among the lawmakers joining Sens. Capito and Tillis in signing the letter is U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

Their letter is in response to media reports, including a Jan. 28 article published by Politico, alleging that the EPA doesn’t plan to create enforceable drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS chemicals, which are linked to several health problems.

“As you are aware, PFAS chemicals have emerged as a widespread contaminant in drinking water sources in several communities across the nation,” the senators wrote Wheeler. “While the risks associated with PFAS exposure are still being uncovered, studies have linked these unregulated emerging contaminants to a number of adverse health effects.”

And while the EPA on May 19, 2016, set lifetime health advisory levels for PFOA and PFOS, they aren’t enforceable, according to the letter. Instead, states would benefit from “much-needed federal guidance on how to determine and implement effective drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS chemicals,” the senators wrote.

Without enforceable standards, the EPA also couldn’t consider ongoing interagency efforts toward unearthing “the human health implications of contamination from PFAS,” which currently includes a nationwide study being conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the lawmakers wrote.

In addition to developing federal drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, the senators called on the EPA to provide them with briefings on the agency’s efforts and regular updates on its progress, according to the letter.

“Safe drinking water is essential to the health and well-being of every American,” wrote the senators. “And while our nation’s water quality is among the highest in the world, we now face a serious challenge: aggressively addressing the health and environmental threats connected with PFAS.”

The lawmakers concluded that it’s “imperative that the EPA show leadership and help protect American families from these harmful materials.”