Trump Administration Continues to Help Communities Address PFAS

Press Release

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues its efforts to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across local communities. Under its PFAS Action Plan, the EPA has spearheaded a comprehensive effort to create partnerships and advance research and information sharing to boost the public health and safety of American consumers.

This week, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler participated in a roundtable, hosted by Energy and Commerce Committee Member Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), to discuss the PFAS Action Plan and its impact on North Carolinians with state and local officials. Administrator Wheeler also used this opportunity to announce a new innovation challenge to address concerns about air-borne PFAS. The Innovative Ways to Destroy PFAS Challenge, a cross-agency partnership between federal and state agencies, will explore PFAS disposal through non-incineration methods. The EPA is joined in this effort by the U.S. Department of Defense and organizations representing the States' environmental administrators and research officials.

With more than 6,000 different compounds, PFAS chemicals have been found to be hard to completely dismantle. This new initiative builds on the Trump administration's commitment to scientifically exploring best practices for these chemicals that are safe and efficient, without creating additional byproducts of concern. Winning design concepts in this challenge can win up to $50,000, and the challenge is open through November 23, 2020.

In a separate announcement earlier this month, the EPA awarded nearly $5 million in grants to several universities for research on PFAS in rural communities and agriculture. Specifically, the resources will be used to research the impacts of PFAS on drinking water quality and availability in rural communities and for agricultural operations. Prioritizing resources and funds for these PFAS-related initiatives demonstrates the administration's commitment to addressing these chemicals.

E&C Republicans are focused on protecting the environment and the public through a deliberative approach based on high-quality science. Unfortunately, Democrats have pushed H.R. 535, the partisan PFAS Action Act of 2019, which uses an aggressive, anti-science regime to expand America's regulatory framework. Still, Republicans will continue to support innovative, science-driven approaches to environmental and consumer protection.

Source