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🇺🇸 United States /Environment & Climate

Trump administration stalled PFAS wastewater survey, former EPA officials say

From PBS NewsHour · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A nationwide survey of wastewater treatment plants has waited nearly two years for approval from the White House budget office, according to former EPA officials.
  • The study could identify industries that discharge PFAS and help regulators develop limits on the chemicals.
  • PFAS are persistent environmental contaminants linked by researchers to cancer risks, developmental effects and other health problems.

A survey designed to show which industries discharge PFAS into wastewater has remained stalled for nearly two years, according to two former Environmental Protection Agency officials involved in its development.

The first nationwide survey of its kind was submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget in October 2024, during the Biden administration. OMB approval is required, but former OMB staffer Stuart Shapiro said reviews typically take about 60 days. “This is sufficiently unusual and a very long period of time that it is worth asking the question: Is OMB just sitting on it?” he said.

The survey would cover hundreds of wastewater treatment plants. Many receive PFAS-contaminated waste, but treatment facilities generally cannot separate the chemicals from other waste, allowing them to return to rivers and soil. Robert Wood, who led the EPA’s engineering and analysis division in its Office of Water before retiring in 2024, said identifying the largest industrial dischargers could guide detailed studies and nationwide regulations.

If we can determine the top one, the top two, the top three industries that dump PFAS, then we start work on the detailed studies and the regulation to get after nationwide limits on PFAS for the predominant industrial dischargers.

· Robert WoodThe former EPA water official explained how the survey could support future regulation.

PFAS, a family of manufactured chemicals once used in products such as waterproof shoes and nonstick pans, persist in the environment and are difficult to remove. Researchers have linked them to certain cancers, developmental effects in children, reduced vaccine resistance and other health problems.

The Trump administration says it will combat PFAS and has kept Biden-era limits on two common types in drinking water. It has also faced criticism from environmentalists and the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-aligned Make America Healthy Again movement, which accuse the EPA of favoring industry. Trump officials delayed major drinking-water limits and abandoned a Biden-era effort targeting PFAS in wastewater from some chemical manufacturers. OMB did not respond to a request for comment.

This is sufficiently unusual and a very long period of time that it is worth asking the question: Is OMB just sitting on it?

· Stuart ShapiroThe former OMB staffer questioned the unusually long review of the survey.
About this summary

Originally published by PBS NewsHour in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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