November 17, 2022
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released “A Year of Progress Under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap,” which underscores key actions taken by the agency during the first year of implementing the PFAS Roadmap. EPA is implementing a whole-of-agency approach, advancing science, and following the law to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable.
“EPA continues to deliver on its promise to confront PFAS and protect the health of people and communities across the nation,” said Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator for Water and Co-Chair of EPA’s Council on PFAS. “Today’s progress report highlights how much we have accomplished in the first year of implementing the PFAS Roadmap. The report also signals important actions the agency will take in the year to come, including our work to invest $10 billion from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in solutions to protect communities from emerging contaminants like PFAS.”
Since the Roadmap’s release in October 2021, EPA:
This report demonstrates EPA’s commitment to act on PFAS with transparency and accountability by keeping the public informed of the Agency’s progress. Today’s progress report also outlines the actions EPA plans to take in the upcoming year, including proposing national drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, moving forward with the regulatory process for CERCLA hazardous-substance designations, improving the availability of data on PFAS, and further restricting upstream PFAS discharges.
Upcoming Regional Community Engagements
Today, EPA also announced that it will hold virtual community engagement events in each EPA Region in 2023. These engagements align with recommendations from the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and EPA’s Roadmap commitment to engage directly with stakeholders. Recognizing the unique and pervasive impacts of PFAS on Tribal communities, EPA is also planning to hold a session specifically designed to hear from our Tribal partners. More information on these sessions will be available on EPA’s website, including an opportunity to register to provide input.
A Whole of Government Effort
As EPA advances critical work using its authorities and resources, it is doing so as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to protect public health and the environment from PFAS. This effort is coordinated by the White House. The Council on Environmental Quality leads a high-level interagency policy group focused on PFAS policy actions and the Office of Science and Technology Policy leads an interagency expert working group of federal technical and scientific leaders. Through these efforts, EPA and its partners are increasing interagency coordination and advancing work on research, analytical methods, contaminated site cleanup, and other areas.
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Originally Appeared Here