U.S. EPA Releases Long-Awaited PFAS Action Plan

This past Valentine's Day, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced EPA's Action Plan for regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are a class of synthetic chemicals that have come under increasing scrutiny.

The Action Plan is a multipronged strategy whose primary components include (1) establishing a binding drinking water standard under the Safe Drinking Water Act ("SDWA") for two of the most common types of PFAS – PFOA and PFOS; (2) listing PFOA and PFOS as "hazardous substances" under CERCLA; (3) using the agency's considerable enforcement authority to require the remediation of soil or groundwater contaminated with PFAS above EPA's existing health advisory levels of 70 ppt; and (4) continuing to assess the potential health effects associated with PFAS, including so-called "second generation" PFAS.