EPA cannot backtrack on PFAS drinking water standards

I've spent decades fighting water contamination on Long Island. I've sat with families who found PFAS in their well water and helped communities and water districts scramble to obtain funding for expensive treatment systems. I've testified for congressional hearings to increase the understanding that PFAS, commonly called "forever chemicals," aren't a hypothetical threat — they are a daily, sickening reality for millions of Americans.

So when Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin recently announced that reducing PFAS exposure is one of the agency's top two priorities, I was initially relieved and heartened. I want to take that seriously. Yet the EPA's actions tell an entirely different story.

Zeldin, who is testifying before the House and Senate this week to defend the agency's budget, is seeking to delay implementation of strict drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS — two forever chemicals found in drinking water. He also wants to undo the protections put in place under the Biden EPA for four additional PFAS. Together, these actions would keep forever chemicals in the tap water of millions of Americans, and strip away safeguards.

You cannot claim PFAS is a top priority and simultaneously dismantle the primary rules designed to reduce the public's exposure. That is not a policy position — it is a calculated contradiction.

Zeldin represented Long Island in Congress. He knows that PFAS contamination adversely impacts real communities. He represented neighborhoods where PFAS were detected in drinking water supplies, where residents fought for solutions, and local governments spent enormous resources working to protect families and children from these toxic chemicals. Zeldin fought with us to successfully obtain funding for these communities to have access to clean, safe drinking water. Today, he is taking steps to walk back hard-earned protections.

The science on PFAS is clear. These compounds, used in nonstick cookware, firefighting foam, food packaging and countless industrial applications, persist in the environment and in human bodies for decades. Exposure is linked to serious conditions such as cancer, thyroid disease, immune dysfunction and reproductive harm. And yet Zeldin's EPA will attempt to weaken and delay these critical PFAS protections while advocating for a budget that massively defunds the one federal agency our nation counts on to ensure clean water and air, and protect us from the toxic waste of corporations. One clear takeaway is the Trump administration values corporate profit more than the long-term health of working class families and children.

As Congress holds hearings, lawmakers should press Administrator Zeldin directly: How does weakening PFAS drinking water standards align with the agency's stated commitment to reducing PFAS exposure? What is the scientific or public health justification for these rollbacks? Who benefits from delay, and who bears the cost?

My message to the EPA is straightforward: Keep the current PFAS drinking water standards in place. Enforce them. Do not delay compliance deadlines. Do not roll back protections. The public needs these guardrails.

I am hoping Zeldin can demonstrate the same level of concern for America's drinking water supply that he demonstrated for Long Island's. There is still time for the old Zeldin to show up and take bold action. Clean water is not a partisan issue.

Zeldin has a critical choice. The EPA can stand with communities across our nation to protect our vital water resources, or it can allow chemical industries to pollute our waterways and contaminate our land, thereby leaving a legacy of illness and pollution.

This guest essay reflects the views of Adrienne Esposito, the executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, an advocacy organization based on Long Island.