At the end of 2021, the EPA published a new rule with the catchy title, Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. It contains updated PFAS collection and testing requirements for public water systems, summarized in the agency’s press release. As promised in the EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and required by the National Defense Authorization Act, the new Rule requires that public water systems sample for 29 types of PFAS in drinking water.

Public water systems will need to start collecting samples and submitting them to the EPA in 2023. The data collected will help the EPA understand the presence and a quantity of PFAS in the nation’s drinking water system and inform future regulation. The EPA will host two public webinars on implementation of the Rule in Spring 2022.