"The EPA is attempting an end run around the Safe Drinking Water Act by trying to rollback drinking water limits it previously set for four PFAS, attorneys representing affected communities said in legal briefs.

But the Environmental Protection Agency’s rollback would correct portions of a drinking water rule crafted through an unlawful procedure and based on erroneous data, water utilities’ and chemical manufacturers’ attorneys countered in separate response briefs filed Friday in an ongoing challenge to the Biden-era rulemaking.

At issue is the Trump administration’s request earlier this month asking the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate drinking water limits set last year for four specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Three groups of plaintiffs—water systems, chemical manufacturers, and communities that have dealt with contaminated drinking water—responded on to the EPA’s vacatur motion by prioritizing different parts of the Safe Drinking Water Act’s (SDWA) requirements."

Pat Rizzuto reports for Bloomberg Environment September 28, 2025. [2]