The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it will delay the schedule for water utilities in drinking water to reduce certain human and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS chemicals and reduce allowable levels in drinking water and reconsider allowable levels in others.

"The work of protecting Americans from drinking water began with the first Trump administration and will continue under my leadership," EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in the announcement.

PFA is a category of a variety of products used for decades to waterproof and stain-proof, including clothing, cosmetics, interiors and fire foam. They are sometimes called "forever chemicals" because they contain strong molecular bonds that last for decades. Long-term exposure to PFA has been associated with harm to human health, such as certain cancers or damage to the liver and immune system.

In April 2024, the EPA under Biden managed set restrictions on certain PFAS chemicals in drinking water, requiring community water systems to find alternative water sources or install filtration systems to remove them. This is the first time the agency has set up an enforceable hat on PFA in drinking water and requires compliance with water utilities by 2029.

Now, the EPA proposes to extend the compliance deadline to 2031, with two of the most common PFAS chemicals - PFOA and PFO. It is revoking and reconsidering the restrictions of the other four in the initial regulations - PFHXS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFB.

"This does not mean that (the limit) will become weaker... When I go through a process, we comply with the law, and the end (level) may be a smaller number, not a higher number," EPA administrator Lee lee Zeldin said in a congressional hearing on May 14.

Some environmental advocates expressed doubts.

"The way to solve the problem is not to provide other protection or make it more stringent," said Anna Reade, a senior scientist at the National Defense Commission of Natural Resources. "It's about providing relief for the cost of water systems."

The group representing water utilities praised the move.

“We strongly support the agency’s decision to revoke regulations…and ensure future rulemaking respects the process of the Safe Drinking Water Act,” a joint email statement from the American Water Factory Association and the Metropolitan Water Agency Association, both organizations filed PFAS regulations against the EPA.

The process, they said, requires the EPA to build rules to “maximize public health benefits in a cost-effective way. This is crucial for the water system and its communities, as the process helps ensure that every taxpayer dollar is targeted at the most pressing public health risks.”

Reade said the Safe Drinking Water Act also contains a measure commonly known as a “reverse folding rule” that believes that once a drinking water rule is set, it will not weaken the drinking water rule. She said that despite her concerns that the agency might try to weaken the rule, “the real damage now is the delay of the campaign to protect drinking water for PFA,” she said.

EPA estimates that 6-10% according to 2024 regulations

According to an EPA analysis, the cost of water companies complying with the regulations is $1.5 billion per year. The agency said the benefits of reducing PFA in drinking water will equal or exceed the cost because there are fewer birth complications in cancer, heart attacks, strokes and patients.

Health advocates fear the move will delay the removal of these chemicals from drinking water and that more people will be exposed to chemicals that may cause chronic health problems.