On April 13, 2021 Reps. Debbie Dingell (D) and Fred Upton (R), introduced the PFAS Action Act of 2021. The Act creates a national drinking water standard for PFAS chemicals and designates PFAS as hazardous substances. This enables the Environmental Protection Agency to establish regulatory limits and require cleanup of sites that exceed such limits in drinking water.
PFAS chemicals are man-made chemicals that are linked to health effects such as cancer and reproductive and developmental harms. PFAS is found in the drinking water of more than 2,000 communities. The Act also requires the EPA to place discharge limits on industrial releases of PFAS and provide $200 million annually for wastewater treatment.