In a bipartisan effort to protect water utilities from costly legal battles, Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Celeste Maloy (R-UT) have introduced the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act. The bill aims to ensure that water providers can focus on delivering clean water rather than defending themselves against lawsuits over contamination they didn’t create.
PFAS have been linked to serious health risks, including developmental issues in children. As water utilities work to remove these substances from drinking water, these lawmakers argue they shouldn’t bear the financial burden of cleanup costs.
“PFAS chemicals harm our health and kids’ development – and water utilities are working hard to treat and dispose of these substances,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Our bipartisan bill will prevent small and rural communities from shouldering unfair costs and instead hold the true polluters accountable.”
“This legislation protects Utah’s water utilities from frivolous lawsuits as they clean up PFAS pollution,” added Rep. Maloy. “Utah’s utilities work tirelessly to provide safe drinking water and should not be penalized for contamination they didn’t cause.”
The Growing PFAS Crisis
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated two of the most common PFAS chemicals—PFOA and PFOS—as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). While this move aims to crack down on polluters, it also raises concerns that water utilities—who passively receive these chemicals—could be unfairly held responsible for cleanup costs.
Although the EPA has proposed an “enforcement discretion” policy to focus liability on industrial polluters, experts argue this isn’t a permanent solution. Without legal protections, ratepayers could still face increased water bills to cover costly legal battles and cleanup efforts.
Support from Local Leaders and Water Advocates
The bill has drawn strong support from water utility leaders and local officials who warn that shifting PFAS cleanup costs onto municipalities would be devastating—especially for smaller communities with fewer resources.
“PFAS is becoming the environmental challenge of our time,” said John Peterson, Executive Director of the Discovery Clean Water Alliance. “Water utilities can and will play a role in reducing its impact, but forcing them to bear the financial burden will only hurt the 150,000 residents who rely on our services.”
Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle echoed those concerns: “It’s critical that we invest in identifying and treating PFAS at the source, rather than spending limited resources defending against lawsuits for a problem we didn’t create.”
Other officials, including Washougal Mayor David Stuebe and Washington Public Utility Districts Association Executive Director Liz Anderson, stressed that polluters—not everyday ratepayers—should foot the bill for PFAS contamination.
This is not Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez’s first attempt at pushing for these protections. She previously introduced similar legislation in the 118th Congress and has worked to secure more than $12.9 million in funding for water and wastewater projects across Southwest Washington.
As concerns over PFAS grow, lawmakers hope this bill will ensure that cleaning up pollution remains the responsibility of those who caused it—not the communities struggling to manage its effects.
For more details, the full text of the legislation is available here.
