Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org
Philadelphia, PA -- Today, Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the EPA’s national action plan on PFAS. PFAS chemicals are widely detected in drinking water and toxic at very low levels. However they are currently exempted from most environmental safeguards. Still, EPA has the power to mandate water testing, stop on-going pollution, and clean up contaminated places.
In the action plan, the EPA only moving to address two banned PFAS, thousands more remain virtually unregulated. The positive steps to require emissions monitoring and water testing and a national water standard will take years to enact, The Safe Drinking Water Act requirements for setting drinking water standards take 8-10 years. The action plan doesn’t go far enough, the EPA can and should do more to immediately limit emissions to air, water, and control disposal.
In response, Sierra Club Senior Toxics Policy Advisor Sonya Lunder released the following statement:
“The EPA’s action plan won’t meet the needs of families and communities who have been drinking contaminated water and desperate for action on PFAS for decades. We can’t wait another ten minutes, let alone ten years, for an enforceable toxic limit when water is contaminated today. It’s obvious Wheeler is kicking the can down the road-- but this is a national crisis and he’s failing to protect the health and safety American families.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.