EPA Administrator Regan Establishes New Council on PFAS

April 27, 2021

To help deliver on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission to protect human health and the environment, today Administrator Michael S. Regan issued a memorandum to EPA’s senior leadership calling for the creation of a new “EPA Council on PFAS” that is charged with building on the agency’s ongoing work to better understand and ultimately reduce the potential risks caused by these chemicals.

“Coming from North Carolina, I’ve seen first-hand how devastating these chemicals can be for communities and the need for strong EPA leadership,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “That’s why today, I am calling on our senior leadership to form a new Council that will identify pragmatic approaches that deliver critical protections to the American public. As one of my top priorities as Administrator, EPA will prioritize partnerships and collaboration with our federal, state, tribal and local partners, and engage the public about the risk associated with these chemicals.

Administrator Regan has asked Radhika Fox, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Office of Water, and Deb Szaro, Acting Regional Administrator in Region 1, to convene and lead the EPA Council on PFAS, which will be comprised of senior EPA career officials from across the agency.

“I’m honored to Co-Chair the EPA Council on PFAS and to work collaboratively with colleagues across our national program offices and our regions to forge meaningful and sustained progress on PFAS,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water Radhika Fox. “By taking a whole of EPA approach, the Council will accelerate scientific work, regulatory action, and voluntary approaches to address PFAS contamination and better protect the health of all Americans.”

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