Georgia moves forward with state-level protections as EPA scales back “forever chemicals” limits
Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division is forging ahead with plans to adopt strict drinking water standards for toxic “forever chemicals,” even as federal regulators pull back from comprehensive regulations finalized just over a year ago. The state’s actions come amid growing concerns about widespread PFAS contamination affecting millions of residents, particularly those in communities with industrial histories related to carpet manufacturing and military installations.
State Rulemaking Process Underway
The Georgia EPD has outlined an ambitious timeline for implementing MCLs for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS. Based on the permitting strategy documents prepared by the agency, the state will conduct rulemaking for MCLs between July 2025 and January 2026, including holding a public meeting in March 2025 to present the draft strategy and take comments from stakeholders.
This state-level action takes on added significance in light of the Trump administration’s move in May 2025 to delay and reconsider federal PFAS drinking water limits. The EPA said it would extend compliance deadlines until 2031 for two common PFAS chemicals—PFOA and PFOS—while rescinding limits for four others: PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS.
Under the Biden administration, the original federal regulations, which were finalized in April 2024, instituted strict limits of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS along with standards for four other PFAS compounds. The new limits are the nation’s first-ever legally enforceable federal limits for PFAS in drinking water, aiming to safeguard close to 100 million Americans and prevent thousands of deaths and serious illnesses every year.
Widespread Contamination Documented Across Georgia
Extensive monitoring has revealed PFAS contamination throughout Georgia, underscoring the urgency of the state’s regulatory efforts. According to federal EPA data, 48 Georgia public water systems have reported the presence of these persistent chemicals, with several recording levels far exceeding health-based guidelines.
2023 and 2024 testing revealed particularly alarming contamination levels in numerous communities. Northwest Georgia water samples showed concentrations dramatically above EPA minimum reporting levels, including the Augusta area at 1,175% over the threshold, 625% over in Calhoun, and more than 112.5% over in Morrow. At some locations, contamination reached 500% above reporting minimums, while the most extreme readings in Calhoun showed levels more than 9,500% over the EPA benchmarks.
The contamination affects water systems serving over a million Georgians. The first 11 systems identified with contamination included Clayton County, Austell, and Covington. An ongoing monitoring program by the Georgia EPD-which started in winter 2021-has focused on, among other places, the Coosa and Tennessee river basins in North Georgia, which have received significant amounts of industrial waste and other pollutants from military installations.
Health Impacts and Community Response
The health impact of PFAS exposure has increasingly been brought to light through both scientific research and community health studies. These synthetic chemicals, used since the 1940s in products from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam, are known to cause many serious health conditions, including cancer, thyroid disease, fertility problems, and immune system impairment.
In August 2025, Emory University researchers released some preliminary results that indicated residents of both Calhoun and Rome, Georgia, had a level of PFAS in their blood considerably higher than the average in the general population. In this study, which sampled 177 area residents, it was determined that 25% had concentrations of PFAS that would warrant further medical testing. The contamination in these communities has been attributed largely to the region’s extensive carpet manufacturing industry, which historically used PFAS-containing chemicals in various production processes.
Severe contamination in North Georgia drew national attention, including a visit from environmental activist Erin Brockovich, who attended town hall meetings in Chatsworth and Calhoun to discuss water system pollution with affected residents. Several families in the area have filed lawsuits against major manufacturers like Shaw Industries, Mohawk Industries, and 3M for allegedly contaminating local water supplies with PFAS and putting public health in danger.
Infrastructure Challenges and Financial Burden
Compliance with PFAS drinking water standards will pose major technical and financial hurdles for water systems throughout Georgia. The EPA estimates the national cost of compliance will be $1.5 billion annually, with costs disproportionately falling on small and rural communities lacking the resources of large urban systems.
The various challenges posed by PFAS contamination are embodied in the experience of the Water Authority of Clayton County. Following tests showing its drinking water to contain eight different PFAS chemicals, with PFOS levels as high as 8.5 parts per trillion and PFOA at 5.5 parts per trillion, the authority borrowed $16 million from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority to design new treatment systems. Even with federal funding assistance, local officials acknowledge the daunting scale of upgrades required.
“There’s a lot of us that are not only employees of the water authority, but we’re also customers—we drink the water,” said H. Bernard Franks, chief executive officer of the Clayton County Water Authority, who highlighted the fact that community health takes precedence despite the hefty costs involved.
Georgia has received over $25 million in federal grant funding earmarked for PFAS detection and treatment systems as part of the Biden administration’s environmental justice plans. The state’s Environmental Finance Authority also doles out millions, including a $30.5 million allocation in August 2024 to five Georgia counties to deal with PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
Regulatory Framework and Enforcement
Georgia regulates PFAS within a complicated framework of federal, state, and local requirements. The state must adhere to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act while devising its standards through the Georgia Rules for Safe Drinking Water, which must be approved by the EPA under the state’s primacy agreement.
The EPD’s permitting strategy extends beyond drinking water to encompass wastewater discharge and land application systems. Under existing state rules, once the state formally adopts the MCLs, wastewater treatment facilities will be subject to PFAS compliance requirements. For land application systems, groundwater leaving disposal system boundaries shall not exceed drinking water MCLs, while NPDES-permitted discharges to streams used for drinking water must be sufficiently controlled such that, after treatment by public water systems, PFAS concentrations will not exceed standards.
Public water systems serving 3,300 or more persons are required to participate in EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, or UCMR 5, which includes testing for 29 PFAS species. The Georgia EPD has supplemented this with targeted monitoring of smaller systems, particularly those relying on groundwater in areas highly susceptible to pollution.
Federal Policy Uncertainty
The Trump administration’s decision to roll back comprehensive PFAS regulations creates uncertainty for state regulators and water utilities. While EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the changes provide “flexibility” and “cost savings” for public water systems, environmental advocates argue the delays extend the time that the public is exposed to hazardous chemicals.
Zeldin said that reconsidering the standards did not mean they would be weaker, and the final levels could actually be more stringent. Critics fear, however, that the regulatory pause will delay urgently needed health protections. EPA intends to propose a rule that extends compliance dates to 2031 but still requires water systems to continue testing for all six PFAS compounds as part of broad nationwide monitoring.
For Georgia regulators and advocacy groups devoted to tackling PFAS contamination, the federal changes represent a step backward for public health. “The only people that benefit is the chemical industry, and the only people that stand to suffer are communities that rely on clean water,” said Chris Bowers, a Georgia attorney who filed a lawsuit in behalf of the Southern Environmental Law Center against the city of Calhoun over PFAS pollution.
Path Forward for Georgia Communities
As Georgia develops its rules, the state is at a critical juncture in determining how best to safeguard public health while addressing the financial and technical challenges associated with PFAS remediation. The EPD projects that compliance burdens could drive faster consolidation of smaller water systems into larger, better-resourced ones through an average of about four consolidations per year, potentially increasing as regulations are put in place.
For the thousands of Georgians whose drinking water has been contaminated with PFAS, the state’s regulatory timeline carries hope for safer drinking water, but its complete implementation will take several years. Public water systems must finish initial monitoring by 2027, start reporting the results to customers in their annual water quality reports, and implement treatment solutions if contamination surpasses established limits by 2029. The Georgia EPD has made information available to the public through an interactive PFAS StoryMap that shows surface water and drinking water monitoring results throughout the state. This allows residents to understand contamination levels in their communities and track progress toward compliance. Environmental health advocates say Georgia – like all states – has both the authority and the obligation to protect their residents from PFAS exposure, despite uncertainty in federal policy. As Ken Cook, president of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, said in response to the original federal standards, such protections give tens of millions of Americans safeguards “they should have had decades ago.” The task ahead, for Georgia’s water utilities, regulators, and affected communities, will be to balance urgent public health needs against practical limits on resources and infrastructure. “Four parts per trillion, we couldn’t ask for a better standard,” one family that has been personally touched by PFAS contamination in Georgia testified in support of strict regulations. “It’s a very ambitious goal, but anything higher than that is endangering lives.” The coming months will prove crucial as Georgia finalizes its PFAS drinking water standards, determines enforcement mechanisms, and coordinates with federal regulators navigating their own policy shifts. For millions of Georgians whose drinking water contains these persistent chemicals, state-level action may prove to be the protection that recent federal policy changes have placed in jeopardy.
