The wastewater industry saw a robust news cycle in 2025. A changing of presidential administration's ushered in a plethora of regulatory actions with a focus on PFAS and varying legislation.
Featured below are the most-clicked wastewater news stories of 2025.
1. Trump administration withdraws proposed PFAS effluent limits
On January 21, 2025, one day after taking office, the Trump administration seemingly withdrew a pending Biden administration proposal that would limit PFAS in effluent.
The proposal would have set limits on PFAS in effluent with discharge limits.
2. EPA backs off new wastewater rules for meat and poultry processors
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has announced that the agency will not move forward with additional wastewater discharge regulations for the meat and poultry processing sector. The decision follows a review of the 2024 proposal to revise industry-specific Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) under the Clean Water Act.
3. What the EPA PFAS announcement means for the wastewater industry
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 28, 2025, upcoming agency action to address Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
4. Five takeaways from the EPA's draft sewage sludge risk assessment for PFOA and PFOS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment on January 14, 2025, for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS).
5. New York DEC sues Buffalo Sewer Authority over permit and CSO violations
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has filed a lawsuit against the Buffalo Sewer Authority (BSA), alleging repeated violations of its State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit at the Bird Island Wastewater Treatment Facility and throughout its combined sewer system.
6. Reintroduced bipartisan legislation protects utilities, ratepayers from PFAS costs
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (UT-02) introduced the bipartisan Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act on February 12, 2025, to ensure that water utilities can continue to focus their efforts on maintaining water quality rather than defending themselves when PFAS polluters seek to dilute their liability.
7. DOE invests $25 million to recover critical minerals from U.S. wastewater
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) has announced $25 million in funding for 10 projects developing technologies to extract critical minerals and valuable nutrients from wastewater streams.
8. Veolia publishes testing on PFAS waste incineration
Veolia announced on May 9, 2025, that is has published comprehensive testing on the incineration of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The tests demonstrated that high temperature incineration is a proven and reliable disposal solution for concentrations of targeted PFAS, destroying greater than 99% of targeted substances, including up to 99.9999% of PFOS and PFHxS.
9. Mexico temporarily discharges wastewater into Tijuana River
U.S. Section Commissioner for the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) Dr. Maria-Elena Giner announced on April 9, 2025, that Mexico will discharge approximately 5 MGD of wastewater into the Tijuana River. Mexico later stated that the discharge is limited to peak hours, making the average daily impact about 3 MGD.
10. EPA to revise regulations on wastewater discharges for oil and gas extraction facilities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 12, 2025, that it will revise regulations on wastewater discharges for oil and gas extraction facilities.
About the Author
Alex Cossin
Associate Editor
Alex Cossin is the associate editor for Waterworld Magazine, Wastewater Digest and Stormwater Solutions, which compose the Endeavor Business Media Water Group. Cossin graduated from Kent State University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. Cossin can be reached at [email protected].