EPA announces intent to extend PFAS drinking water compliance timeline to 2031 while retaining PFOA/PFOS MCLs and reconsidering other PFAS components

EPA announced it intends to retain the existing Safe Drinking Water Act PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOA and PFOS, while planning a rulemaking to extend the drinking-water compliance timeline (described as extending the compliance date from 2029 to 2031). EPA also signaled intent to rescind and reconsider regulatory determinations/standards for other PFAS elements of the rule (PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture). Compliance teams supporting public water systems and impacted supply chains should treat this as a forward-looking timeline/scope change requiring monitoring of the follow-on proposed and final rulemaking.