Feds Propose PFAS Limits Tighter Than NJ’s Current Restrictions

March 16, 2023 | njspotlightnews.org

Five years ago, New Jersey was a leader in the battle against so-called forever chemicals in drinking water. It imposed first-in-the-nation limits on one particularly prevalent danger, and followed that with tough rules on two other substances.

Now the state’s nation-leading efforts against these PFAS chemicals are being upstaged by new federal proposals that would set even stricter limits on two of those chemicals, leaving New Jersey, like other states, playing catch-up.

NJ SEED: New Jersey is a national leader in identifying and regulating “forever” chemicals and achieving significant improvement in water quality. Not to be outdone by states, the federal EPA proposes stricter limits. Nearly 100 NJ water systems have been found to violate one or more of the state’s limits. The federal proposal will likely mean that three hundred or more of the state’s water utilities will be out of compliance. A near-zero standard may be next to impossible to achieve.