Page 15 - HOH

A2 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 15 May 2025
EPA announces rollback for some Biden-era limits on ‘forever

chemicals’ in drinking water

By MICHAEL PHILLIS from being looser than pre-
Associated Press vious ones.
The Environmental Protec- “With a stroke of the pen,
tion Agency said Wednes- EPA is making a mockery of
day that it plans to weak- the Trump administration’s
en limits on some “forever promise to deliver clean
chemicals” in drinking wa- water for Americans,” Ol-
ter that were finalized last son said.
year, while maintaining President Donald Trump has
standards for two common sought fewer environmen-
ones. tal rules and more oil and
The Biden administration gas development. EPA Ad-
set the first federal drinking ministrator Lee Zeldin has
water limits for PFAS, or per- carried out that agenda by
fluoroalkyl and polyfluoroal- announcing massive regu-
kyl substances, finding they latory rollbacks. The EPA
increased the risk of cardio- plans to loosen regulations
vascular disease, certain for greenhouse gas emis-
cancers and babies being sions, cleanup standards
born with low birth weight. for coal plant waste and
Those limits on PFAS, which car emission limits, among
are human-made and many other clean air and
don’t easily break down in water rules.
nature, were expected to Logan Feeney pours a water sample with forever chemicals, known as PFAS, into a container for Zeldin’s history with PFAS is
reduce their levels for mil- research, April 10, 2024, at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lab in Cincinnati. more nuanced; during his
lions of people. Associated Press time as a New York con-
Limits on three types of gressman, he supported
PFAS, including what are “We are on a path to up- drawal of limits for certain, ties’ lawsuit. They argued legislation to regulate for-
known as GenX substances hold the agency’s nation- newer types of PFAS. So far, the EPA lacked authority to ever chemicals.
found in North Carolina, will wide standards to protect sampling has found nearly regulate a mixture of PFAS Evidence of harm builds
be scrapped and reconsid- Americans from PFOA and 12% of U.S. water utilities and said the agency didn’t and so does the cost
ered by the agency, as will PFOS in their water. At the are above the Biden ad- properly support limits on Manufactured by com-
a limit on a mixture of sev- same time, we will work to ministration’s limits. But several newer types of PFAS panies like Chemours and
eral types of PFAS. provide common-sense most utilities face problems that the EPA now plans to 3M, PFAS were incredibly
The Biden administration’s flexibility in the form of ad- with PFOA or PFOS. rescind. They also sought useful in many applica-
rule also set standards for ditional time for compli- Health advocates praised the two-year extension. tions among them, help-
the two common types of ance,” said EPA Adminis- Biden’s administration for Erik Olson, a senior strategist ing clothes to withstand
PFAS, referred to as PFOA trator Lee Zeldin. the limits. But water utilities at the nonprofit Natural Re- rain and ensuring that
and PFOS, at 4 parts per tril- The development was first complained, saying treat- sources Defense Council, firefighting foam snuffed
lion, effectively the lowest reported by The Washing- ment systems are expen- said the move is illegal. The out flames. But the chemi-
level at which they can be ton Post. sive and that customers will Safe Water Drinking Act cals also accumulate in
reliably detected. The EPA Large scale changes and end up paying more. The gives the EPA authority to the body. As science ad-
will keep those standards, utility pushback utilities sued the EPA. limit water contaminants, vanced in recent years, ev-
but give utilities two extra It appears few utilities will The EPA’s actions align with and it includes a provision idence of harm at far lower
years until 2031 to comply. be impacted by the with- some arguments in the utili- meant to prevent new rules levels became clearer.q

Trump can’t strip Foreign Service workers of their collective

bargaining rights, judge says

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN WASHINGTON (AP) — A Wednesday to temporarily vice Association, which said “Congress could not
Associated Press federal judge agreed block the Trump adminis- represents more than have been clearer in pass-
tration from stripping For- 18,000 members of the For- ing the Statute that it in-
eign Service employees of eign Service, sued to stop tended for the protections
their collective bargaining the administration over the of the Statute to extend
rights. March 27 executive order. broadly to the covered
U.S. District Judge Paul The union said Trump’s or- departments and agen-
Friedman granted a fed- der “upended decades of cies in the foreign service.”
eral labor union’s request stable labor-management Government lawyers said
for a preliminary injunc- relations in the Foreign Ser- Trump determined that
tion that, while its lawsuit vice,” removing all mem- “agencies with a primary
against the government is bers at the State Depart- national security focus are
pending, stops the Repub- ment and U.S. Agency being hamstrung by re-
lican administration from for International Develop- strictive terms of collective
implementing a key por- ment from coverage of a bargaining agreements
tion of an executive order law that gives them the that frustrate his ability to
The Harry S. Truman Building, headquarters for the State signed by President Don- right to organize and bar- safeguard the interests of
Department, is seen in Washington, March 9, 2009. ald Trump. gain collectively. the American people.”q
Associated Press The American Foreign Ser- In his opinion, Friedman