Two legal challenges have been filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals with respect to EPA’s April 10, 2024, final rule setting legally enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for six PFAS in drinking water (discussed in our April 10 summary here). 

On June 7, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) filed a petition for review, stating in part that the “EPA did not rely on the best available science and the most recent occurrence data, and used novel approaches as the basis for certain portions of the rule,” and that the rule will have a significant impact on water affordability, because “EPA has significantly underestimated the costs” of the rule. The AWWA/AMWA petition asserts that the rule is legally defective because it is arbitrary and capricious, in excess of statutory authority, unreasonable, not feasible, and not supported by the best available data and science. 

On June 10, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and American Chemistry Council (ACC) filed a separate petition for review. The NAM/ACC petition does not recite the substantive bases for the challenge, but asserts that the rule exceeds EPA’s authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act, is arbitrary and capricious, and was not promulgated in accordance with procedures required by law. 

The AWWA/AMWA petition can be found here, and the NAM/ACC petition can be found here.