Clean water advocates in New Mexico are criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to revoke six Biden-era rules on toxic PFAS, known as “forever chemicals.”
The EPA wants to narrow rules on four PFAS substances, arguing the rulemaking process was legally flawed. The agency would also give companies and water agencies two additional years to comply with rules on two other chemicals.
Maria Doa, senior director of chemical policy for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the federal government is putting profit ahead of public health.
“They're extremely bad,” Doa contended. “They cause so many different harms to the body at extremely low levels. And the other thing is, many of these PFAS build up in your body and stay there for a long time.”
New Mexico is suing the federal government over PFAS contamination from Cannon Air Force Base. For decades, firefighters there conducted exercises using PFAS-containing foam, which then leached into water used by the area’s farmers and ranchers.
The state is demanding a comprehensive cleanup, compensation for local agricultural damages and an end to the nonemergency use of the toxic chemicals. Earlier this month, the federal government verbally agreed to begin cleanup at the base but the lawsuit is ongoing and could act as a bellwether case for larger litigation.
Doa described the EPA action as an attack on clean water and argued it shows the Trump administration favors big business.
“This is part of a coordinated approach,” Doa stressed. “A lot of the people at EPA are former chemical industry people who are integral to rolling back these regulations.”
PFAS chemicals are used in many industrial and consumer products. Studies link the chemicals to cancer, liver and thyroid disease, and developmental issues in unborn children.
In 2025, the New Mexico Legislature passed the PFAS Protection Act, which phases out consumer products with intentionally added PFAS in an effort to make sure forever chemicals don’t find their way into residents’ homes.