•  
  •  
 
Indiana Law Journal

Document Type

Note

Publication Date

Winter 2026

Publication Citation

101 Indiana Law Journal 661

Abstract

How did per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the forever chemicals known to harm human health and appear in most Americans’ blood, spread so widely in drinking water? Why didn’t someone with the power and knowledge to stop this crisis step in sooner? Simply imposing limits on PFAS levels in public water systems is the bare minimum to protect American drinking water—a necessary step but only the starting point of a long path toward creating a regulatory framework that can withstand the whims of changing presidential administrations and political influences.

     It is too easy for the EPA Administrator, either out of their own agenda or under a president’s pressures, to deregulate PFAS in drinking water despite consistent scientific findings that PFAS harm human health when ingested through water. The United States could be a leader in eradicating PFAS in drinking water, but three problems stand in our way which have prevented tighter PFAS regulation up to this point: (1) private industry concealment of PFAS harms since the 1960s, (2) successful lobbying by the PFAS industry against bills that could better regulate PFAS in drinking water, and (3) existing statutory and regulatory language that gives the EPA Administrator too much unchecked power to avoid regulating more PFAS chemicals.

                This Note proposes a three-fold solution to overcome each barrier and reveal a path toward longer-term PFAS regulation in drinking water. First, EPA should better hold companies accountable for their PFAS pollution through not just imposing fines and criminal penalties but also funding research and subsidizing use of PFAS-free commercial alternatives. Second, Congress should overcome the powerful PFAS industry influence and pass stronger PFAS legislation, such as the PFAS Action Act. Third, Congress and the Office of Government Ethics should amend statutory and regulatory language to decentralize the power and protect the integrity of the EPA Administrator position. These steps could set a foundation for a lasting regulatory system rather than a flimsy legislative and executive branch approach that is susceptible to the temptation to leave PFAS unregulated (or to deregulate them) and pay for the damages later.

Download

Share

COinS