Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo is calling on the Biden administration to take decisive regulatory action against “forever chemicals” as President-elect Donald Trump approaches his return to the White House.
“EPA has worked hard against all adversity to obtain drinking water standards for this particular class of chemicals,” Ruffalo said during a Monday webinar hosted by the Environmental Working Group.
“Now, the Biden administration just needs to close the loop and hold those who kill people accountable,” he added.
Ruffalo was referring to the producers of thousands of synthetic compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
These chemicals are known to persist in humans and the environment, and are found in certain types of firefighting foam, industrial waste, and many household products. They are thought to be associated with many serious diseases, including thyroid disease, testicular cancer, and kidney cancer.
“We've been to the White House with families who have lost children to these diseases, and they continue to accumulate in our bodies,” Ruffalo said.
“The problem now is that they are still shielding these companies from accountability,” he added, referring to the federal government.
The Biden administration has already taken several decisive steps in its long-term mission to regulate and clean up decades of PFAS contamination caused by businesses and military agencies across the United States.
In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated two types of PFAS as hazardous substances based on national heritage.super fundThis decision came just days after the EPA issued another rule setting limits for several PFAS in drinking water.
And just last week, the agency announced new regulations that would prevent PFAS from being approved through the small-volume exemption system, an abbreviated review granted to chemicals manufactured in small quantities.
But Ruffalo and his fellow activists are pressuring the Biden administration to take more decisive action to strengthen PFAS-related oversight before Trump takes office.
In particular, theyPotential proposed rulesDischarge of wastewater containing PFAS has been under consideration at the White House Office of Management and Budget since June.
These possible plans have been under consideration since 2021, when the EPA first announced it would propose rules setting limits on these emissions.
“The Biden administration has finally done the right thing, more than any other administration in the United States in decades,” Ruffalo said Monday, citing the EPA's PFAS-related actions over the past four years. ” he said.
But Ruffalo also pointed to what he described as “bad news”: the fact that the potential removal proposal “is currently pending with the Biden administration.”
“It's been sitting there for a long time, and it's taxpayers and downstream communities who are paying the price again and again,” Ruffalo said.
Melanie Benesch, legislative counsel for the Environmental Working Group, echoed this sentiment, noting that “polluters already have the tools they need to stop PFAS from being dumped into water.”
“The longer we wait to address industrial waste and actually tackle PFAS at the source, the more we risk illness and death,” Benesh said.
Brenda Hampton, a northern Alabama native, said she and her neighbors represent communities affected by such tragedies, saying, “It's not real that we're seeing so many deaths in our area.” said.
In the Hamptons area, numerous companies near Decatur, Alabama, have been dumping PFAS-containing wastewater into the Tennessee River for decades, which flows downstream toward communities.
“We hope that this administration will enact a law that will last forever and that the next administration will not be able to overturn this law,” Hampton said. “Drinking water is a right. It's not a privilege. It's a right.”
Nevertheless, even if the EPA formally proposes this emissions rule involving PFAS (which is still under consideration at this time), it is unlikely to be finalized before President Trump takes office due to federally mandated deadlines. would be virtually impossible. Regulatory process.
Such a rule isadministrative procedure lawIt usually takes at least a year to go from proposal to final stage. After proposal, most rules require a 30- to 60-day comment period, after which the agency must consider all of these submissions.
The Hill has reached out to the Office of Management and Budget for comment.
But Hampton stressed the need to provide Americans with “clean, safe drinking water” during a webinar Monday, adding, “I think this administration will do something to really help us. “Because we are becoming extinct here.''
Emily Donovan, co-founder of North Carolina Clean Cape Fear, echoed Hampton's sentiments, saying the region's PFAS crisis is “massive, serving more than 500,000 residents in three counties. “It's contaminating the public water system.”
Donovan credited the current president for finalizing the PFAS drinking water standard, but also said he is “implanting the Biden administration to allow EPA to propose rules to limit PFAS emissions.”
“Don't let us down,” she said. “Please do this for the children in my community who no longer have a father or mother.”
As PFAS activists across the country grapple with the uncertainty of a future Trump administration, Hampton and Donovan stressed they will continue fighting at the local level.
Hampton said he plans to pressure Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to revoke permits for polluting companies, while Donovan stressed the need to keep local fights alive in state and local governments. emphasized.
“We're leaving the door open to possibly a move by this Trump 2.0,” Donovan said. “But if history is any indication, expectations aren't that high.”
Ruffalo similarly emphasized the importance of focusing on “the local politicians who will be held accountable for this and who will be constantly shadowed by activists and affected people.”
He also expressed support for having philanthropists invest money in this fight so that these environmental justice communities have sufficient resources on the ground.
Mr. Ruffalo also pointed to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, as someone who has done extensive work on water pollution, and urged him to take the issue seriously. Ta.
Mr. Ruffalo said, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr., if you are who you say you are, we are reaching out to you to do what you know better than anyone in your administration.'' “I will.”
Asked by The Hill if he thought Kennedy had the power to effect such change, given that he works for the Department of Health and Human Services, not the EPA, Ruffalo said, “There is no one in the administration with such expertise in water.'' There will be no home.” Robert. ”
“I hope that whatever position or expertise he has, he will actually influence EPA policy,” the actor and activist continued.
“If this is a populist government, as we are being told, then nothing transcends policy, ideology and political party like water,” Ruffalo added. “I know every Republican wants clean water. I know every working class person wants clean water.”
