Attorney General Jeff Jackson Leads States Opposing Rollback of PFAS Limits in Drinking Water

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Contact: comms@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809

RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed comments opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rollback on limits to four PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The rollback means that public drinking water systems won’t be required by federal law to test for these chemicals, report how much of them are in our public drinking water, or treat drinking water to remove these chemicals so people don’t ingest them.

“Everyone deserves to have safe water to drink,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “That’s why I’m fighting to keep these protections in place. In North Carolina, we know firsthand how damaging PFAS chemicals are to our drinking water and to people’s health. If the EPA rolls back these limits, it would be a harmful step in the wrong direction.”

The United States is going through a PFAS contamination crisis. Nearly 10,000 areas in the United States have been found to be contaminated by PFAS and more than 170 million people drink water that has tested positive for PFAS.

Two years ago, EPA put in place a final rule to regulate the presence and amount of four PFAS chemicals – including GenX – in public drinking water. That rule was adopted under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which gives EPA the authority to set such national standards for chemicals and contaminants in our water. EPA went through a years-long process to adopt this rule, including conducting research and analysis and asking for public feedback.

Now, EPA is proposing to eliminate this rule entirely for four important PFAS, including GenX, without providing any good reason. The agency hasn’t analyzed how this rollback would impact drinking water or people’s health and didn’t consider taking a narrower action or trying a different solution instead.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the coalition of attorneys general filed comments reminding EPA that this action is illegal and arbitrary. The federal Safe Drinking Water Act has a specific provision to protect public health that prevents EPA from backsliding on its regulations. That’s exactly what the EPA is trying to do here. Eliminating these protections would put people’s public health at risk, and the attorneys general are asking the EPA to not rescind the 2024 rule.

North Carolina was ground zero for GenX Contamination. The Chemours Company and its predecessor, DuPont, have been operating their chemical plant in North Carolina since the 1970s. For decades, they have been emitting GenX and other PFAS into the air and discharging the chemicals into the Cape Fear River, which provides drinking water for 500,000 residents of eastern North Carolina.

These forever chemicals can be toxic to people and animals at very low concentrations. They leach into groundwater and surface water through manufacturing materials, discharges, emissions from manufacturing facilities, and other sources. They don’t degrade and are difficult to remove from the environment, so they’re a long-term public health danger. Research has shown that PFAS are linked to damage to the thyroid, liver, kidney, immune system, blood, and reproductive systems.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson has been fighting to mitigate PFAS contamination in North Carolina. In June, he denounced a proposed deal between the EPA and Chemours for doing almost nothing to address the damage Chemours has done in North Carolina. Earlier this month, he encouraged North Carolinians to submit comments about the deal to the federal government. Additionally, he is litigating a case against DuPont, Chemours, and affiliated corporate entities to ensure North Carolina is compensated for the damage the companies have done to the state’s natural resources. He is also litigating six additional lawsuits against 14 companies, including DuPont and Chemours, that manufacture AFFF, a fire suppressant used by first responders that contains PFAS. In December 2025, he sent a comment letter to the EPA opposing the rollback of PFAS data collection and reporting. In January of that year, he filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals defending nationwide drinking water standards for PFAS chemicals.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson is joined in filing these comments by the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the letter is available here.

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