New Bill Would Lock PFAS Water Standards Into Federal Law
As water systems across the country confront the rising uncertainties around PFAS, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced new legislation that aims to provide long-term certainty and protection. The PFAS National Drinking Water Standard Act of 2025 would codify the U.S. EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) for PFAS, which were finalized in April 2024 under the Biden administration.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who are Co-Chairs of the Congressional PFAS Task Force, introduced the legislation to protect the EPA’s enforceable limits from potential rollbacks or inaction.
The PFAS Task Force, founded in 2019, represents a bipartisan effort to confront “one of the most urgent environmental and public health threats facing America”: the spread of PFAS. Fitzpatrick relaunched the task force in May 2025.
With this new legislation, the EPA’s final NPDWR is given the full force of federal law, ensuring that the enforceable regulations remain protected from future regulatory uncertainty.
“Now, with this bill, we are cementing the EPA’s PFAS drinking water standard into federal law – so it can bever be weakened, walked back, or ignored,” Fitzpatrick said. “For families in my community and across the country, it delivers what they’ve long been denied: certainty, accountability, and the peace of mind that their water is finally safe.”
PFAS have been linked to serious health risks including cancer, immune system suppression, and developmental issues. Their widespread presence in drinking water has spurred growing demand for federal action.
While the EPA committed to keeping the current NPDWR for six of the most hazardous PFAS chemicals, such as PFOA and PFOS, it also announced intentions to rescind regulatory determinations for four other hazardous PFAS chemicals. If passed, the new bill would block any current or future attempts to alter these regulations.