The Environmental Protection Agency expects to develop a management plan for chemicals affecting drinking and groundwater that were widely used for fire fighting, waterproofing and stain prevention following a summit held May 22-23 with state leaders. Others say, however, that the agency must first establish a maximum contaminant standard for the substances under the Clean Water Act.
In 2016 EPA issued a lifetime health advisory of 70 parts per thousand (ppt) for two chemicals in the per- and polyfluoroalkyl group, PFOA and PFOS, but the guidance is not an enforceable drinking water standard. More recent studies have shown that a lower tolerance, possibly as low as 12 ppt, is a more accurate level for safety. The Defense Dept. says it cannot determine its cleanup requirements without an enforceable cleanup standard.