PFAS Water Policy: EPA Withdraws Key Pollution Guidance

EPA Rescinds 2022 PFAS Discharge Guidance

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn guidance that previously directed states and permitting authorities toward existing Clean Water Act mechanisms for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, in wastewater and stormwater discharges.

The affected document was EPA’s December 5, 2022 memorandum, Addressing PFAS Discharges in NPDES Permits and Through the Pretreatment Program and Monitoring Programs. Issued by then-Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox, the memorandum instructed EPA regional offices and provided guidance to states on using NPDES permits, pretreatment programs and monitoring to identify PFAS sources and reduce releases under existing authorities.

The rescission is part of EPA’s broader review of Office of Water guidance documents. EPA said in an August 11, 2026 memorandum that it had rescinded five guidance documents after determining that they did not reflect current law, regulations, executive orders, administration policy or meaningful public engagement. The agency also noted that guidance documents are not legally binding, although they can influence decisions by states, Tribes, businesses and other stakeholders.

What the Withdrawn Guidance Previously Recommended

EPA’s 2022 memorandum was designed to help permitting authorities act before PFAS contamination reached downstream waterways and drinking-water sources. It recommended the use of monitoring, pollution-prevention measures, best management practices and pretreatment requirements, including technology-based controls where appropriate.

“The NPDES program is an important tool established by the Clean Water Act ... to help address water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants to waters of the United States.”

The 2022 memorandum emphasized that PFAS could be addressed through existing permitting authorities even while EPA continued developing broader effluent guidelines, analytical methods and water-quality criteria. It also expanded the guidance beyond federally issued permits to state-authorized NPDES and pretreatment programs.

EPA’s subsequent technical materials have continued to recognize the role of PFAS monitoring in NPDES and pretreatment programs. The agency currently recommends EPA Method 1633 or 1633A for PFAS analysis in NPDES monitoring, reflecting the development of validated wastewater analytical methods since the 2022 guidance was issued.

The Clean Water Act Authorities Remain Relevant

The withdrawal of an EPA guidance memorandum does not, by itself, repeal the Clean Water Act or remove state and federal permitting authorities established by statute and regulation. The principal change is the removal of EPA’s 2022 policy framework and recommendations for how those authorities should be applied to PFAS.

This distinction is significant for wastewater utilities and industrial dischargers. NPDES permits regulate point-source discharges to waters of the United States, while pretreatment programs can establish controls on industrial pollutants entering publicly owned treatment works. EPA’s 2022 guidance had specifically identified these mechanisms as tools for identifying PFAS sources and limiting releases before contaminants move into surface waters or downstream treatment and disposal pathways.

The practical implications will therefore depend in part on individual states and permitting authorities. Some jurisdictions may continue PFAS monitoring or source-control requirements based on their own legal authorities, existing permits and applicable state standards, while others may reassess how PFAS conditions are incorporated into future permits.

Why PFAS Source Control Matters

PFAS refers to a broad class of highly persistent chemicals used in industrial processes and consumer products. Their resistance to heat, oil, grease and water has supported applications ranging from specialized industrial uses to consumer products and food-contact materials. EPA has described PFAS as persistent chemicals that can move through wastewater, stormwater and other environmental pathways.

Once PFAS enter wastewater systems or the environment, management can become more complex because the chemicals may move among water, soil, sediment and biosolids. EPA’s own biosolids materials have emphasized source identification, industrial pretreatment and monitoring as measures that can help prevent downstream PFAS contamination.

For water-sector operators, this creates a distinction between controlling PFAS at the point of discharge and attempting to remove contaminants after they have entered a drinking-water treatment system. The former can involve industrial pretreatment and discharge controls, while the latter can require additional treatment technologies and infrastructure investment.

Federal PFAS Policy Is Being Reconfigured, Not Eliminated

The withdrawal of the NPDES guidance should be viewed alongside several other PFAS actions taken by EPA during 2025 and 2026. The agency’s current approach contains both regulatory revisions and new initiatives addressing PFAS exposure.

In May 2026, EPA proposed a rule that would retain the federal drinking-water maximum contaminant levels for PFOA and PFOS while giving eligible public water systems an option to request up to two additional years to achieve compliance, potentially extending the deadline to 2031.

Separately, EPA proposed rescinding the drinking-water regulations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, commonly known as GenX chemicals, and the associated Hazard Index mixtures involving those PFAS and PFBS. As of September 2026, those changes remain proposed actions rather than completed regulatory changes.

At the same time, EPA has launched the PFAS OUTreach initiative, which is intended to work with drinking-water systems facing PFOA or PFOS concerns and connect them with technical information, funding opportunities and other resources. EPA says it expects to contact systems with PFOA or PFOS concentrations above 4 parts per trillion during summer 2026.

EPA also included PFAS as a chemical group in its draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List. Placement on the CCL does not itself impose requirements on public water systems; future regulation would require a separate regulatory process.

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