OUR DAILY THREAD: EPA + HHS + PFAS = SOL
You do the math
THE SET-UP: This is how an EPA press release characterized the agency’s rollback of restrictions on PFAS in drinking water:
And this is how The New York Times headlined today’s announcement by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and HHS Secretary RFK Jr.:
E.P.A. to End Some Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water
…and The Washington Post:
EPA wants to repeal limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
…and The Hill:
Trump proposes partial rollback of ‘forever chemical’ drinking water protections
…and NOTUS:
The EPA Wants to Rescind Four Forever Chemical Limits in Drinking Water
…and, just for good measure, the conservative Washington Examiner:
EPA and HHS propose rescinding parts of Biden’s PFAS limits in drinking water
Here’s a key excerpt from the Examiner’s report:
The proposals come as the EPA and HHS have faced backlash from MAHA advocates to urgently address environmental health issues. For instance, in early December, more than 2,800 people signed a petition urging the White House to fire Lee Zeldin, head of the EPA.
MAHA’s festering anger is why Zeldin had RFK Jr. by his side for today’s feeble, Jedi Mind Trick-like attempt to convince MAHA that “these are not the droids you are looking for.”
Apparently, they believe catch phrases like “holistic approach” and “gold-standard science” will somehow obscure the plainly obvious fact that they are delaying the implementation of already-finalized restrictions on demonstrably toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water. Here’s how The Washington Post described a move RFK Jr. comically characterized as advancing “the Make America Healthy Again agenda”:
[T]he EPA’s proposal would end the Biden-era drinking water limits for four toxic PFAS compounds: GenX, PFHxS, PFNA and PFBS. The agency said in a statement that it would evaluate those PFAS and issue new regulations, while stating it “cannot predetermine the outcome” of that process.
It will also allow utilities to opt in to extensions of up to two additional years to comply with limits on the amounts of two other prevalent compounds, known as PFOS and PFOA. The EPA had started the process earlier for regulating those chemicals, which are among the most studied PFAS.
Now, despite what we already know about the impact and ubiquity of forever chemicals …. and despite restrictions already in place … Zeldin and Kennedy are resetting the process back to square one. Zeldin claims the Biden Administration “cut corners and failed to follow the law” and, once they “fix that error,” the EPA will produce “standards water systems can actually implement” and “hold up to scrutiny.”
What that really means is Zeldin seeks weaker standards that are cheaper to implement and easier to defend when a purveyor of PFAS inevitably challenges the restrictions in court. It also means at least two more years of forever chemicals in drinking water (from 2029 to 2031) and it opens the door to more delay tactics and revisions as the EPA does more research to confirm what we already know.
None of that is lost on the MAHA movement RFK Jr. used as a bargaining chip with then-candidate Trump. In the end, RFK Jr. got the power he craved, Trump got the votes he needed … and it appears that MAHA is getting the shaft:
Many activists in the MAHA base have already expressed disillusionment with the Trump administration over its backing of a controversial weed killer and previous plans to delay deadlines for water utilities to limit two types of PFAS in drinking water. Some on Monday described the E.P.A.’s effort to describe their plan as positive for public health as misleading.
“We have more than enough evidence to show that forever chemicals are harmful to human health,” said Kelly Ryerson, who is known as the Glyphosate Girl on social media, “I would strongly advise the E.P.A. not to move forward on deregulating PFAS if they want to win the November midterms.”
Unfortunately for the Glyphosate Girl and the rest of the MAHA Moms who banked on RFK Jr.’s promises, the mounting headwinds Republicans face this November may not be enough to trump the power and influence of the industries they thought they were fighting when they followed RFK Jr. into Trump’s fold.
An unnamed Trump official confirmed as much when RFK Jr.’s controversial choice for Surgeon General was retracted by the White House. Per CNN:
“I hate to say it, but I think they’re a little bit overrated,” said one Trump adviser. “To some extent, MAHA has always been a paper tiger.”
Perhaps.
Then again, that was about ten days before Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy lost his primary race against a Trump-endorsed, MAHA-embraced alternative, Cassidy’s vote to confirm RFK Jr. notwithstanding.
Ultimately, Cassidy’s discomfort with RFK Jr.’s pick for Surgeon General was a key motivator for MAHA.
As NBC News noted last week during the final stretch of the campaign, MAHA was “working hard to take Cassidy down and install Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow as the Republican nominee” after Trump and Kennedy both blamed Cassidy for stalling Dr. Casey Means’ nomination to be surgeon general.
Whether or not MAHA tipped the scales in Louisiana or tips the scales in November, we can all be certain that Trump’s EPA will continue to keep its thumb on the scales whenever it benefits polluters. - jp
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