Comment submitted by Emily Donovan

My name is Emily Donovan. I am co-founder of Clean Cape Fear based near Wilmington, NC. Three years after we moved to the area my husband developed a brain tumor. He’s fine today but my friends Tom, Sarah, Amy, and Chris weren’t so lucky. Years later we learned our tap water had some of the highest levels of PFAS in public tap water per multiple nationwide studies. It’s estimated our region ingested approximately 130,000 ppt of PFAS in our tap water for decades. The majority of these forever chemicals were all unmonitored and unregulated. I raised my children on this tap water because water should be safe to drink. GenX was first discovered in my community’s tap water and my group has devoted the last nine years fighting alongside other members of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition to stop all PFAS exposures. I believe this current administration’s EPA is wasting our time and engaging in business-related human rights abuses. Rescinding GenX and the Hazard Index limits is unnecessary. These rules are already in front of the courts not over their scientific and public health merits but because of a procedural dispute from industry the EPA should let the courts decide. In January, a federal appeals court refused EPA's request to throw out the rules. The court left the rules in force and sent the case to full review. The rules stand today. EPA does not have to undo them. This is a choice EPA is making at the expense of every contaminated community across the country and it is utterly unholy to witness. I also believe this current EPA is inconsistently invoking procedure claims for these critical rules that do NOT benefit public health while moving fast elsewhere when speed favors industry. Communities living with contamination are paying the ultimate price. Tearing down a finished rule and rebuilding from scratch burns years of regulatory process and public money for no noticeable health benefit. Lastly, North Carolina residents want these protections. Clean Cape Fear partnered with University of North Carolina Wilmington last summer on a survey that found 82% of North Carolinians put water safety over cost. 71% worry about EPA rescinding and delaying limits. Keep the rules. Defend them. Finish the job. Emily Donovan, co-founder Clean Cape Fear