Zeldin’s EPA Seeks Credit for Contaminant Watchlist While Rolling Back Existing Protections
While claiming to promote health, the EPA is removing protections from toxic chemicals in air, food, and water
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Tylar Greene, tgreene@earthjustice.org
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the addition of microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and dozens of other contaminants to its so-called Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This is a bureaucratic designation that does nothing to reduce toxic chemicals found in drinking water serving millions of people.
The agency’s proposal includes four contaminant groups — microplastics, pharmaceuticals, PFAS, commonly known as forever chemicals, and disinfection byproducts. Forever chemicals and disinfection byproducts were put on the list years ago. More importantly, a CCL listing does not require the monitoring or regulation of the contaminant, and some chemicals have been on the CCL for more than a decade without triggering new SDWA rules.
“Zeldin’s EPA is not taking bold action to ensure drinking water safety. This is a PR stunt that doesn’t require a single test, set a single drinking water standard, or protect a single community,” said Suzanne Novak, Earthjustice’s Director of Drinking Water Advocacy. “Zeldin is focused on rolling back existing health protections. Adding contaminants to a watchlist cannot mask that this administration is giving corporate billionaires what they want, while families and children pay the price with cancer and developmental harm.”
The announcement comes as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the Trump administration have been under pressure for prioritizing corporate profits over public health by approving pesticides that contain forever chemicals, rolling back rules for forever chemicals in drinking water, and gutting mercury standards for power plants. In February, President Trump also signed an executive order boosting glyphosate production, a toxic pesticide.
In its announcement today, the EPA touted the idea that this listing will “unlock focused research” on the newly proposed substances. But the agency recently eliminated its Office of Research and Development, undercutting the agency’s capacity to research and regulate.
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