Why It Matters

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has broad authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface water, but a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report updated Sept. 30 finds that it has not finalized any industry-wide discharge limits or biosolids requirements for PFAS, nor has it designated any PFAS as toxic pollutants or hazardous substances under the law. The report, authored by CRS specialist Laura Gatz, describes a regulatory framework that is legally available but only partially implemented, with national requirements and consistent standards still incomplete.

For the current administration, several major rulemakings remain unfinished, a key piece of state guidance was rescinded in August, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $1 billion over five fiscal years to address emerging contaminants, including PFAS, in wastewater through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

The Big Picture

EPA has developed Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) for 59 industrial categories, but none address PFAS. The agency's 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap set timelines for action across 11 industrial categories, but deadlines have shifted repeatedly. A proposed rule revising ELGs for the Organic Chemicals, Plastics, and Synthetic Fibers category, originally targeted for fall 2024, appeared on the Regulatory Agenda with a July target, while a proposed rule for Metal Finishing moved from spring to February 2027.

EPA finalized Method 1633A, which tests for 40 PFAS compounds across eight environmental media, and Method 1621, which screens for thousands of known PFAS compounds in water samples, in January 2024. A proposed rule to formally adopt those methods, which EPA described as "a necessary step for them to be nationally required for CWA use," was published in January 2025 but has not been finalized.

On biosolids, EPA published a draft risk assessment for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in January 2025, then issued draft guidance in June instead of finalizing the assessment, stating the draft had "a number of serious flaws." The guidance recommends mitigation practices but does not establish binding national limits.

EPA rescinded its December 2022 state guidance on PFAS permitting in August, saying it was applied inconsistently and confused states and permittees.

Draft human health criteria for PFOA, PFOS, and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), published for public comment in December 2024, remain unfinalized, while aquatic life criteria for PFOA and PFOS were finalized in October 2024, leaving states and tribal governments without final federal human health criteria for those PFAS to consider when developing their own water quality standards.

The Bottom Line

The CRS report frames the central challenge not as a lack of legal authority but as the gap between authority and completed action. With the analytical-methods rule, human health criteria, ELGs for multiple industrial sectors, and biosolids requirements still pending, congressional action on funding, deadlines, or statutory requirements could shape how quickly and how uniformly that gap closes. Members of the 119th Congress have introduced bills related to PFAS in surface water.

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