EPA’s drinking water limits for PFAS are under threat – and that’s nothing new

Utilities often work ‘arm and arm’ with the chemical industry to attack rules, said Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund. Photograph: Grace Cary/Getty Images

Several unexpected plaintiffs are behind a legal challenge aiming to kill the Environmental Protection Agency’s groundbreaking new drinking water limits for highly toxic PFAS: the US’s water utilities, represented by their major trade groups.

But utility industry opposition to clean water regulations is nothing new. Though utilities’ mission is to provide the US with clean and safe water, their trade groups have for decades often fiercely opposed initiatives to improve quality.