Pappas Announces Clean Water Agenda with Reintroduction of Three Bills to Combat PFAS Contamination & Support Affected Communities

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) introduced three bills to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination and hold polluters accountable: his bicameral, bipartisan Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), the bipartisan PFAS Research and Development Reauthorization Act with Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), and his No Taxation on PFAS Remediation Act. 

"The dangers posed by ‘forever chemicals’ like PFAS remain a pressing environmental and public health issue. No industry should be given a free pass to poison our water, no community should bear the burden of addressing this challenge alone, and no family should ever have to wonder whether their drinking water is safe when they turn on the tap," said Congressman Chris Pappas.“Today I am introducing three pieces of legislation to tackle PFAS contamination in a comprehensive manner. 

“My Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act will finally hold polluters accountable, establish proactive limits for PFAS, set water quality criteria, and support communities with contaminated water. The PFAS Research and Development Reauthorization Act will reauthorize EPA’s PFAS research and development authority so we can continue to accurately measure PFAS contamination and use the most up-to-date technologies to remediate it. And my No Taxation on PFAS Remediation Act will end federal taxation of PFAS contamination reimbursements so families who spend their hard-earned money to ensure their water is safe don’t face an added tax burden from the federal government. I will keep fighting to protect our water, hold polluters accountable, and ensure all families have access to safe, clean water.”

Pappas’s bipartisan, bicameral Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act would require EPA to develop water criteria for PFAS under the Clean Water Act and provides EPA with an ambitious yet achievable roadmap to establish effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) and standards for eight priority industry categories for all measurable PFAS or classes of PFAS within three years. The bill also includes significant federal support to assist communities in upgrading their municipal water infrastructure in order to safeguard public health and protect ratepayers. This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the Environmental Working Group and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

“It is unacceptable that toxic PFAS chemicals are infiltrating our waterways in New York and across the country,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Protecting the health and safety of our communities requires addressing the scourge of PFAS contaminants in our drinking water, food, and environment. Our Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act would limit PFAS in industrial discharges, and I’m proud to work with Representative Pappas on this critical legislation as we continue fighting to protect the public from these dangerous chemicals.”

“Clean water is fundamental to every community’s health, growth, and future. As Co-Chair of the Congressional PFAS Task Force, I’ve worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to build a national strategy that matches the scale of this challenge. This legislation moves that vision forward—establishing clear timelines for EPA action, advancing strong monitoring and science-based standards, and providing meaningful support for our municipal systems so families and ratepayers are protected. When we work together, we can strengthen public health, support our communities, and ensure every American household has access to safe, reliable water for generations to come,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick.

“PFAS impacted communities in Merrimack, NH and several surrounding communities have been powerless to stop the source of vast environmental contamination due to the lack of federal regulations prohibiting PFAS discharges. The Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act will finally stop pollution of our water sources at the source and give us the rights that we don't currently have to hold known parties accountable to true environmental stewardship,” said Laurene Allen, Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water.

"I am thankful to Congressman Chris Pappas for his unwavering commitment to the protection of our planet and public health from the dangers of PFAS. His work to direct the EPA to establish important PFAS standards, publish water quality criteria, and award grants to publicly owned water treatment works to implement PFAS pre-treatment standards is especially important to those of us living in communities with known, significant impact. Recognizing the need to stop exposure, now-–not later, citizens in communities like mine, though not responsible for the contamination, have borne the burden of this cost in an effort to protect ourselves from the PFAS in our public drinking water. Passage of this important legislation will protect other communities from our experience," said Nancy Murphy, Merrimack Town Councilor and NH State Representative, Hillsborough 12.

"I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to Congressman Chris Pappas for his continued, multipronged, efforts to press for stricter regulation to curb sources of PFAS contamination that end up in our kitchen tap water in New Hampshire. Stopping the pollution before it gets in the environment is the most cost-effective and efficient way to address this problem that plagues our communities across the state," said Mindi Messmer, MS, PG, CG, Senior Research Scientist and co-founder of New Hampshire Safe Water Alliance.

“Industries shouldn’t be able to dump as much PFAS as they like into nearby rivers, streams, and lakes, putting the health of their neighbors at risk,” said Melanie Benesh, Vice President for Government Affairs at the Environmental Working Group. “The Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act is a critical piece of legislation that will ensure that the EPA acts quickly to turn off the tap on some of the most notorious PFAS polluting industries.”

The bipartisan PFAS Research and Development Reauthorization Act would reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) research and development (R&D) authority with regards to PFAS. EPA’s PFAS research includes projects to measure PFAS in our air and water, understand the human health impacts of PFAS exposure, and mitigate PFAS contamination in our environment. EPA’s PFAS R&D authority expired at the end of fiscal year 2024. This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the Environmental Working Group and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The No Taxation on PFAS Remediation Act would eliminate federal income taxes on reimbursement or rebate funds that individuals receive to clean up PFAS contamination in communities without municipal water service. Pappas has heard from constituents who received reimbursements from New Hampshire’s PFAS Rebate Program for the cost of addressing PFAS contamination in their wells, only to have their rebates inappropriately classified as taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service. Pappas’s legislation would fix this issue by permanently removing PFAS remediation reimbursements as taxable income.

Background: 

Pappas has been a leader in addressing PFAS and advocating for improved standards, increased investment, and a stronger national focus on PFAS contamination and also leads the PFAS Registry Act and the PFAS-Free Procurement Act. In 2024, following his calls for EPA to establish water quality criteria and limits on industrial PFAS discharges into water and to water treatment plants as required by his Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act, EPA finally finalized a PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation which issues strict Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for PFAS chemicals and announced $1 billion in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law would be directed to help address PFAS contamination in both municipal systems and private wells, with a focus on small and rural communities. Since then, the Trump administration has weakened and delayed these efforts, demonstrating the continued need to pass Pappas’s legislation to make these standards permanent and irreversible.

Specifically, the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act would require EPA to develop water quality criteria under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for all measurable PFAS or classes of PFAS within three years; require EPA to establish ELGs and standards for eight priority industry categories for all measurable PFAS or classes of PFAS; require EPA to immediately establish PFAS monitoring requirements for three additional industry categories (Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard; Airports; and Electrical and Electronic Components) and reach a determination on whether ELG standards are needed for these industries by December 31, 2026; require EPA to promulgate Method 1633 no later than January 31, 2026; authorize $1 billion overall to help publicly owned treatment works address PFAS contamination for fiscal years 2026 through 2030; and authorize $12 million for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to help EPA implement the bill.