Op-Ed: State action on PFAS gaining traction despite EPA rollbacks

Despite EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s claims to prioritize combating toxic chemicals called PFAS, the agency is doing the opposite. As the EPA heads into 2026 proposing to roll back reporting requirements on PFAS, state attorneys general across the country are working to ensure these dangerous “forever chemicals” don’t get swept under the rug. And it is time for the EPA to match the urgency states are showing.

The urgency these efforts deserve is hard to overstate. PFAS, which may be the biggest threat to safe drinking water since lead, have emerged as a serious environmental and public health threat because of their lingering long-term effects and widespread contamination. PFAS are found in our drinking water, soil, food and agriculture system, and consumer products.

Yet even as evidence of the impact of PFAS on public health mounts — from studies finding that mothers living downstream of PFAS-contaminated sites experience triple the rate of infant deaths to an association between PFAS and liver disease in young adults — the federal government is failing to protect the public. In fact, the EPA recently approved two pesticides containing PFAS chemicals for use on food, and withheld a toxicity report on a forever chemical that found links between it and developmental, liver and reproductive risks.

With federal oversight weakening, state leaders are stepping in to fill the gap. North Carolina is the latest to join a coalition of 15 Democratic-led states challenging the EPA’s rollback of chemical reporting rules that would exempt companies from reporting PFAS when used as minor ingredients, research substances, impurities, and byproducts — all categories that still contribute significantly to PFAS entering the environment and water supply.

Companies who use PFAS and pro-pesticide agricultural groups may be welcoming looser regulation, but their PFAS problem is not going away. Even without federal enforcement, states have a slew of legal and policy avenues at their disposal to protect their land and communities, and many are already using them.

A great case in point: Maine has been a national leader in PFAS regulation, demonstrating what proactive state action can look like. From implementing the nation’s first broad ban on nonessential PFAS in products in 2021 to recognizing the risks of these manmade chemicals — linked to cancer, birth defects, and other serious health problems — by outlawing the use of sewage sludge on farmland, Maine has consistently led on PFAS regulation. And this year, on January 1, the second phase of its PFAS ban took effect, further tightening restrictions.

Just as importantly, much of Maine’s progress has been driven by bipartisan action, which shows that the fight to protect communities from this serious environmental and public health threat transcends political lines, uniting us all. The state has proven that meaningful PFAS regulation is possible, and the results are tangible: Maine now has the most PFAS-focused legislation on the books, paired with policies designed to support farmers grappling with PFAS contamination rather than leaving them to bear the costs alone.

North Carolina is following a different, but equally consequential path. In addition to joining the group of states opposed to the EPA’s rollbacks, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has filed lawsuits against DuPont and Chemours for their role in PFAS contamination of natural resources and drinking water in the Cape Fear River Basin and surrounding communities. He is seeking monetary damages for decades of pollution from their Fayetteville Works plant, which introduced toxic PFAS into the water supply, impacting hundreds of thousands of residents who had no say in their exposure. Notably, this action comes from a state with a Republican-led legislature, showcasing how concern over PFAS contamination is not only a Democrat effort.

While the companies are challenging Jackson's authority to pursue environmental lawsuits like this, so far, the North Carolina Supreme Court is allowing him to move forward — a signal that the courts may be receptive to holding polluters accountable when regulators fail to do so. This case underscores that direct legal action remains a powerful tool for states seeking accountability.

Beyond North Carolina and Maine, states across the country are advancing a wide range of strategies to confront PFAS contamination. Wisconsin is moving forward with PFAS limits despite the EPA weakening the rule they previously set forth. Minnesota and New York have enacted sweeping laws requiring the reporting and eventual banning of intentionally added PFAS in most products, set to take effect by the 2030s. California, Colorado, and New Jersey have also succeeded by targeting PFAS in cosmetics, cleaning supplies, textiles, and cookware. Michigan has focused on biosolids and sewage sludge used as soil amendments, while other states are zeroing in on drinking water, such as New Hampshire, which has set limits for PFNA.

States are acting, and the EPA needs to live up to Administrator Lee Zeldin’s promise to “help states and communities dealing with legacy contamination in their backyards” to “ensure Americans have the cleanest air, land, and water.”

State attorneys general, agencies, and lawmakers have made clear they will not wait for federal leadership that may never come. If these dangerous rollbacks do go into effect, regulation at the state level is expected to increase exponentially — and the groundwork for that response has already been laid.