Despite the grave issues posed by ‘forever chemicals’ like GenX, the Biden administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears to be embracing an agonizingly slow pace in rolling out new regulations concerning these dangerous substances. The EPA has declared its intention to delay the establishment of new regulations, a decision that strikes a hard blow to communities already suffering from pollution crisis, such as the Southeastern region of North Carolina.
In response to decades of unrestricted disposal of chemical compounds into our environment—including waterways and groundwater that serve as drinking sources for millions of Americans—the EPA’s languid approach seems far from satisfactory. The compounds, known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including GenX, have seen widespread use in products such as fire-fighting foam. Unsurprisingly, their use has resulted in contamination and health problems nationwide. Rather cynically, these substances are called ‘forever chemicals’ because they resist breaking down in the environment or the human body.
In an erratic mid-May announcement, the EPA declared that it would maintain previously set standards for two manmade PFAS, while reconsidering regulations for four others, including GenX. It’s a clear dodging of responsibility by the EPA under the Biden administration, leaving the public in an unwarranted state of uncertainty.
Adding insult to injury, the agency has bestowed utilities with an additional two-year grace period, extending the compliance deadline to 2031, to meet federal standards for reducing the level of manmade chemicals in their water supplies. It is a generous concession, absurdly suggesting that ensuring access to safe drinking water can be further delayed.
Unsurprisingly, the Biden administration’s latest move is perceived as a nod to their industry supporters, this time the considerable chemical industry. The strategy is too apparent; attempting to shift the burden of PFAS contamination and the consequential health impacts from industry tycoons to local utilities and unsuspecting general public. An epic sidestep of responsibility that risks the health of millions.
A non-partisan environmental advocacy group estimates that up to 30,000 culprits are recklessly contaminating the environment—specifically, the nation’s drinking water—with PFAS. The alarming figure underscores the administration’s failure to respond appropriately to the urgent crisis, instead choosing to delay vital regulation.
In the Wilmington area, the Cape Fear Public Utility and H2GO have gone to great lengths, investing millions in updating their infrastructure to eliminate PFAS from the water supplies they manage. Meanwhile, the Biden administration appears to be sitting idle, prolonging the unfortunate crisis and postponing stringent regulatory measures at the federal level.
Activists, fraught with anxiety, keep their hopes up nonetheless. They believe options for expanding regulations against PFAS may yet emerge through action in Raleigh, even when federal plans seem stuck in a bureaucratic quagmire. The federal standards, overwhelmingly viewed as perfunctory, create the baseline for state compliance but do not prohibit the adoption of more rigorous guidelines by state regulators.
California serves as a shining example, having adopted stricter rules on environmental concerns numerous times—demonstrating courage, initiative, and its responsibility to its citizens. Lessons that the Harris-Biden administration seems to overlook time and again.
In North Carolina, proactiveness in addressing these harmful contaminants could come from the N.C. General Assembly. State Senator Michael Lee, the Senate Majority Leader, offers a glimmer of hope, putting forth a bill known as the ‘Water Safety Act’.
The proposed legislation seeks to compel the state to establish safe drinking water standards and enforce stringent discharge limits on significant PFAS contributors. The draft bill takes a significant step in mitigating this escalating environmental crisis and throws a stark contrast to the EPA’s sluggish approach.
Gone unnoticed by most, the Act also comprises provisions to compensate public utilities for their PFAS filtering costs—a hint of thoughtful attention towards entities thrust into this challenging situation. However, this groundbreaking initiative appears to be in stark contrast to the unsupportive stance held by the Biden administration on a national level.
Sadly, this could be another instance where scores of American citizens are left to deal with their struggles while enduring the repercussions of loose regulations. The Biden administration’s negligence and perpetual buck-passing poses as an immediate threat to safe, healthy, and sustainable living conditions of the public.
The administration’s ambiguous stance on something as crucial as safe drinking water standards just adds to its ever-growing list of shortcomings. One cannot help but wonder: Is it Biden’s lackadaisical administration that the American people need during this crucial time?