West Virginia's Capito pans latest EPA action on 'forever chemicals'

WASHINGTON (WV News) — For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken action to limit public exposure to "forever chemicals."

Also for the second time in as many weeks, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has decried the agency's decision.

Last week, the EPA announced the first-ever national standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — also called PFAS chemicals — in drinking water. 

On Friday, the agency announced it had designated two of the most common PFAS chemicals — perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) — as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

CERCLA, also called the Superfund Act, is intended to hold polluters accountable to pay for cleaning up environmental contamination.

“Designating these chemicals under our Superfund authority will allow EPA to address more contaminated sites, take earlier action and expedite cleanups, all while ensuring polluters pay for the costs to clean up pollution threatening the health of communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

Capito, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said this is the first time the EPA has "designated a hazardous substance under CERCLA without first designating the substance as such under another environmental statute."

“The EPA’s unprecedented decision today puts local communities and ratepayers on the hook for PFAS contamination they had nothing to do with in the first place," Capito said.

"Along with many others in Congress, I have repeatedly warned the EPA about the unintended consequences stemming from this rule, which will have disproportionate impacts on providers of essential public services such as water and waste utilities, airports, farmers and ranchers, and fire departments," she said.

Last week, Capito said the EPA's drinking water standard “takes the wrong approach.”

“For years, I have urged multiple administrations to issue a safe drinking water standard that is scientifically sound, based in reality and does not unfairly burden our local communities,”  she said April 10. “Unfortunately, the standard set today by the administration doesn’t meet any of this criteria and takes the wrong approach, which will result in increased costs for local water systems and ultimately, ratepayers.”