Suozzi, in Letter to EPA, Continues to Lead Efforts to Fund Drinking Water Cleanup

Washington, D.C.— Congressman Tom Suozzi called on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, his former colleague, to reverse his decision to delay compliance deadlines on final PFAS regulations. The same week, Suozzi also secured $10 million in funding for PFAS filtration equipment for the Albertson and Jericho Water Districts. Since he helped negotiate, voted for, and passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021, Suozzi helped secure a total of $58 million in PFAS filtration funding on behalf of his constituents in New York’s third district.

In the letter, Suozzi wrote that he is “concerned by the EPA’s recent announcement to delay the compliance deadlines for its final PFAS regulation, published in 2024, and I request that you retain the original deadline for the sake of public health. As you are well aware, Long Island’s sole source aquifer contains high levels of PFAS from which the public must be protected.”

Suozzi’s letter is in response to a recent announcement from the EPA, which Zeldin leads, that the agency would delay a deadline for water systems to comply with federal water standards targeting PFAS, or polyfleuroalkyl substances. Exposure to PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” has been linked to higher incidences of a variety of cancers, and Long Island’s industrial and agricultural history has left residents at risk of higher levels of PFAS exposure than many other parts of the country.

“Administrator Zeldin knows how important it is to protect Americans from PFAS in their water systems,” Congressman Suozzi said. “He and I worked together in a bipartisan way to target these forever chemicals when we served together in the House, protecting both our constituencies on Long Island and in Queens, and I hope he returns to that thinking and reverses his decision to delay compliance deadlines for these important regulations.”

Suozzi and Zeldin overlapped in the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021, with Suozzi representing New York’s third district on Long Island and Zeldin representing New York’s first. In his letter, Suozzi reminded Administrator Zeldin that the two had voted together to target these “forever chemicals” in 2019 and 2021, referencing their “yea” votes on the PFAS Action Act of 2019 and 2021, respectively. Zeldin was also a member of the Congressional PFAS Task Force during his time in the House of Representatives.

“PFAS is the greatest drinking water pollution challenge of our generation, and the public is counting on the EPA to effectively address this challenge.  Delaying action puts more people at risk and will inevitably lead to increased costs. We are thankful that Congressman Suozzi is engaged and concerned about this critically important issue. Citizens Campaign for the Environment wholeheartedly agrees that there should be no delay in implementing EPA’s drinking water standards but rather the focus should be on assisting water suppliers with grants to acquire the needed filtration treatment.  The public deserves the most protective policy, and we are thankful that Congressman Suozzi is advocating for just that,” said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

The letter implores Administrator Zeldin to instead help water suppliers comply with EPA standards.

“Long Island water districts are making good progress on meeting those original deadlines, but implementing these changes is expensive, and the federal government could help,” Suozzi continued. “Taxpayers in my district and all over the country deserve access to clean drinking water without having to foot exorbitant bills to get it.”

The full letter can be found on Suozzi’s website here.

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