On Monday, the Trump administration announced what it called “Major PFAS Actions.” This announcement, containing little details, followed an administration filing last Friday requesting to delay a decision in a court case over a major Biden-era action to designate forever chemicals PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund Law, casting doubt on the administration’s intentions to regulate these dangerous chemicals.

What’s more, this announcement came the same day as another effort to intimidate EPA workers into leaving. The Trump administration also plans to gut the EPA’s research and development arm, moving to fire more than a thousand toxicologists, chemists, and other scientists. The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the essential functions of the federal government and its workforce hamstring EPA’s ability to establish or enforce meaningful PFAS regulations.

The Trump administration also has a stated deregulatory agenda. For example, the EPA indicated yesterday that it would develop effluent limitation guidelines for PFAS producers. Such a rule has already been drafted, but it was pulled back under Trump’s day-one executive order pausing all new regulations. 

Food & Water Watch’s Public Water for All Campaign Director Mary Grant released the following statement:  

“Toxic PFAS poisons our food, water and communities. We do not need more meaningless announcements; we need real action. The EPA must defend existing regulations and issue new rules to regulate the entire class of PFAS and stop PFAS pollution in the first place. The Trump administration must also commit to fully staffing and funding EPA and the State Revolving Loan Programs that support public water providers. Without a concrete decision to defend the existing rules, the EPA’s recent announcement rings hollow.”

While Monday’s announcement contained little details about regulatory actions and timelines, the Trump administration’s track record on PFAS action is concerning. Under the previous Trump administration, PFAS plans and roadmaps were announced, but major rulemaking didn’t occur until the Biden administration. In 2024, the Biden administration finalized the CERCLA rules that would hold polluters accountable for PFOA and PFOS contamination in communities, as well as nationwide limits on six types of PFAS in drinking water. These regulations are facing industry lawsuits, and the Trump EPA has so far not indicated if it will defend the rules in court or roll them back.