POLITICO Energy

EPA tackles ‘forever chemicals’ in historic water proposal

Episode Summary

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed the first-ever federal limits for toxic PFAS "forever chemicals" that are found in the drinking water of 200 million Americans. If finalized, the rule would mark the first major upgrade in the safety of the nation's drinking water in the past three decades. However, getting it across the finish line is far from certain, and the new safety measures would cost American households hundreds of millions of dollars. POLITICO's Annie Snider breaks down the cost and potential regulatory obstacles. Plus, the state of Ohio is suing Norfolk Southern for the costs associated with the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.

Episode Notes

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed the first-ever federal limits for toxic PFAS "forever chemicals" that are found in the drinking water of  200 million Americans. If finalized, the rule would mark the first major upgrade in the safety of the nation's drinking water in the past three decades. However, getting it across the finish line is far from certain, and the new safety measures would cost American households hundreds of millions of dollars. POLITICO's Annie Snider breaks down the cost and potential regulatory obstacles. Plus, the state of Ohio is suing Norfolk Southern for the costs associated with the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.

 

Josh Siegel is an energy reporter for POLITICO. 

Annie Snider covers water issues for POLITICO Pro. 

Nirmal Mulaikal is a POLITICO audio host-producer.

Raghu Manavalan is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.

Jenny Ament is the executive producer of POLITICO’s audio department.