A federal watchdog is criticizing the EPA for how it handled the modification of a “forever chemicals” rule. In the meantime, the Biden administration is touting lower gas prices while offering efficiency help for low-income homes.
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A federal watchdog is criticizing the EPA for how it handled the modification of a “forever chemicals” rule. In the meantime, the Biden administration is touting lower gas prices while offering efficiency help for low-income homes.
Trump EPA Concealed Modifications To The PFAS Rule.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) neglected to notify the public of “substantive” modifications it made to a regulation controlling the use of harmful chemicals during the Trump administration, according to an internal monitor.
The rule, which deals with the use of a class of chemicals known as PFAS, was weakened, according to the Biden administration, by one of those revisions.
After it was signed by Then-Administrator Andrew Wheeler in 2020, the EPA changed the rule but did not notify the public, according to the inspector general’s office.
The relevant rule prohibits the production of products containing a class of PFAS known as long-chain PFAS, including carpet, textiles, and appliances, without the consent of the EPA.
A reminder about PFAS: The health problems of thyroid illness and thyroid cancer, as well as kidney and testicular cancer, have all been related to exposure to PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds. They are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” since they persist in both the environment and individuals.
The inspector general’s office stated in a report released on Thursday that the rule underwent alterations after it was enacted, including the removal of text defining which imported goods were regarded as coated with the compounds.
Later, Wheeler issued a compliance directive on the subject, but current Administrator Michael Regan revoked it because he believed it weakened the regulation.
The report stated that EPA officials did not name the individual who made the adjustments in question, despite telling the watchdog that someone in the Trump White House made them.
Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Tom Carper (D-Del. ), who raised concerns about “possible anomalies” during the rule’s finalization, asked for the investigation.
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