The plan also proposes designating PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. In October, the EPA released a PFAS Strategic Roadmap that includes accelerating efforts to set a national drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS by 2023. But many manufacturers appear to be taking advantage of a loophole to evade reporting requirements. A listing in the TRI requires facilities to report releases of those PFAS into the environment. The council’s recommendations have not yet been made public.ĮPA added 175 PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory, or TRI, in response to a congressional mandate. In April, EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced the formation of an EPA PFAS Council tasked with identifying agency action priorities within 100 days. But it could take years before these regulations are final. In March 2021, the EPA announced it would regulate two PFAS – PFOA and PFOS, the two most notorious PFAS chemicals – in drinking water. President Joe Biden has promised to tackle PFAS contamination by regulating the chemicals in drinking water, designating PFAS as hazardous substances under the federal Superfund law, stopping government purchasing of some products containing PFAS, and funding additional research into the chemicals. The Department of Defense has been testing for PFAS at military installations but has made little to no progress cleaning up any contaminated bases. The agency released a woefully inadequate plan PFAS action plan in 2019 that failed to include deadlines for action, and the EPA has made little progress. The Environmental Protection Agency has known about the health hazards of PFAS for decades but has failed to limit PFAS discharges into the air and water or set cleanup standards.