Comment box Scope: summary Tone: neutral Opinion: none except the very end Sarcasm/humor: none I'm sharing this because it's an example of good policy being executed by the current administration...
Comment box
Scope: summary
Tone: neutral
Opinion: none except the very end
Sarcasm/humor: none
I'm sharing this because it's an example of good policy being executed by the current administration in the United States. I recommend that readers share this kind of information with likely voters.
PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of chemicals that are harmful to human health because of the way they accumulate in human blood and other locations. Media refers to them as "forever chemicals" because they have extremely long half-lives. They also have negative environmental consequences for this reason.
US president Joe Biden was narrowly elected in 2020, defeating the anti-environment incumbent. Biden appointed new leaders of executive agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and has issued directives to those agencies to strengthen regulations on the release of harmful chemicals in the US. The EPA derives its authority to enforce certain regulations based on laws passed by Congress, such as the Clean Air Act. Therefore, while its rules are not technically laws, they have the strength of laws as long as they are in line with the mandates provided by Congress.
The EPA and other agencies go through a tedious, months-long public outreach and review process when crafting new rules. The goal of this process is to engage stakeholders and figure out if the rules actually impose onerous challenges on, say, manufacturers who use harmful chemicals in their processes. Companies file documents with the EPA stating their positions, and if their arguments are strong enough, the EPA may change the language of the new rules. (Sometimes this makes sense. Other times, the companies are lying through their teeth!)
This time, even though some water utility companies opposed the rules, the EPA has essentially stuck to their original plan. The rule will require water utilities to install better filtration systems in order to protect individual Americans from ingesting these harmful chemicals, and by extension from releasing them into the environment. Through Biden's 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the federal government is providing $21 billion+ to help improve drinking water, and other sources of funding are also available.
The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers.
The EPA estimates the rule will cost about $1.5 billion to implement each year, but doing so will prevent nearly 10,000 deaths over decades and significantly reduce serious illnesses.
“It’s that accumulation that’s the problem,” said Scott Belcher, a North Carolina State University professor who researches PFAS toxicity. “Even tiny, tiny, tiny amounts each time you take a drink of water over your lifetime is going to keep adding up, leading to the health effects.”
Water companies have complained, but I think their complaints would be better aimed toward the manufacturers who are releasing these harmful chemicals in the first place... not the government who's trying to solve the problem. In general, I agree with the implementation of the regulation, and it inclines me to support this administration in November's election.
Comment box
I'm sharing this because it's an example of good policy being executed by the current administration in the United States. I recommend that readers share this kind of information with likely voters.
PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of chemicals that are harmful to human health because of the way they accumulate in human blood and other locations. Media refers to them as "forever chemicals" because they have extremely long half-lives. They also have negative environmental consequences for this reason.
US president Joe Biden was narrowly elected in 2020, defeating the anti-environment incumbent. Biden appointed new leaders of executive agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and has issued directives to those agencies to strengthen regulations on the release of harmful chemicals in the US. The EPA derives its authority to enforce certain regulations based on laws passed by Congress, such as the Clean Air Act. Therefore, while its rules are not technically laws, they have the strength of laws as long as they are in line with the mandates provided by Congress.
The EPA and other agencies go through a tedious, months-long public outreach and review process when crafting new rules. The goal of this process is to engage stakeholders and figure out if the rules actually impose onerous challenges on, say, manufacturers who use harmful chemicals in their processes. Companies file documents with the EPA stating their positions, and if their arguments are strong enough, the EPA may change the language of the new rules. (Sometimes this makes sense. Other times, the companies are lying through their teeth!)
This time, even though some water utility companies opposed the rules, the EPA has essentially stuck to their original plan. The rule will require water utilities to install better filtration systems in order to protect individual Americans from ingesting these harmful chemicals, and by extension from releasing them into the environment. Through Biden's 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the federal government is providing $21 billion+ to help improve drinking water, and other sources of funding are also available.
Water companies have complained, but I think their complaints would be better aimed toward the manufacturers who are releasing these harmful chemicals in the first place... not the government who's trying to solve the problem. In general, I agree with the implementation of the regulation, and it inclines me to support this administration in November's election.
Here is the original press release if you care to read it. You can also read more about the EPA's broader plan here: PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA's Commitments to Action 2021-2024.