U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Ron Johnson (R-WI), the Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued a bipartisan call for information following a recent news report that a review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) cleanup guidelines for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanoic sulfonate (PFOS) – two chemicals structures belonging to a class of chemicals known as PFAS – have been delayed due to a disagreement between government agencies about the proposed groundwater contamination standard. According to the report, the Department of Defense (DOD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Small Business Administration (SBA) objected to the EPA’s proposed contamination standard, initiating an interagency review process at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“I am deeply troubled by a recent report that the EPA’s PFAS guidelines have been delayed because certain federal agencies are trying to avoid their responsibility to clean up toxic PFAS chemicals,” said Senator Peters. “Communities in Michigan and across the country are facing a serious public health crisis, and we cannot afford to wait any longer. I’m working to ensure the government completes its review process quickly so EPA can set strong guidelines to support efforts to cleanup these harmful chemicals.”
In a letter to OMB, Peters and Johnson requested documents and communications exchanged between OMB, DOD, NASA and SBA in the review process, and urged OIRA to resolve any remaining conflicts and swiftly conclude its review. Peters previously wrote to OMB pressing for information on agency discussions around EPA’s proposed “PFAS Action Plan,” which did not include a cleanup standard.
The news report suggests that DOD and other agencies are using the interagency process to dilute the proposed standards and reduce the number of sites they would be responsible for cleaning up. There are multiple military installations in Michigan with PFAS contamination that could be excluded from remediation efforts if EPA does not set appropriately strong cleanup standards. Recently, the U.S. Air Force was refusing to work with the State of Michigan to address PFAS contamination at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda. Peters pressed Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson to cooperate with the state’s cleanup efforts and was able to secure a commitment from the Air Force to assist in remediation. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Energy John Henderson also committed to visiting Oscoda at Senator Peters’ request.
As Ranking Member of the Senate’s top oversight committee, Peters has played a leading role in addressing the PFAS crisis. Last year, Peters convened the Senate’s first hearing on PFAS contamination to discuss the federal government’s role in the cleanup process. Peters also helped introduce legislation to require EPA to declare PFAS as hazardous substances eligible for cleanup funds under the EPA Superfund law and require polluters to pay for cleanup. Peters also authored a provisions that were signed into law allowing commercial airports to transition away from using firefighting foams that contain PFAS and encouraging the DOD to develop new, safer PFAS-free firefighting alternatives.
The text of the letter is copied below and available here:
