EPA’s legal PFAS battle, tariff fallout, and America’s aging water systems

In this episode, Talking Under Water co‑hosts discuss the newest PFAS regulatory developments, major legal challenges, and the mounting strain on water and stormwater infrastructure across the U.S. The conversation begins with the EPA’s decision to add PFHXSNA to the Toxics Release Inventory, expanding federal PFAS tracking and community access to chemical data. The hosts then outline the unfolding court battle over EPA’s PFAS drinking water rule, detailing the agency’s motion to sever and pause litigation on the hazard index and the strong opposition filed by AWWA and AMWA, who argue that utilities need unified judicial review to plan for compliance.   The episode also explores the Supreme Court’s recent ruling striking down President Trump’s tariff plan and how the administration is seeking new legal pathways to maintain tariffs. From there, the hosts examine the politically charged response to the Potomac Interceptor sewer collapse, highlighting the operational, financial, and communication challenges surrounding the incident.   Closing out, the show turns to stormwater struggles on both coasts — catch basin failures and compliance gaps in Connecticut, and severe flooding, lawsuits, and multibillion‑dollar funding shortfalls in San Diego — underscoring nationwide infrastructure vulnerabilities. The episode concludes with key industry updates and program announcements.   Show Notes

EPA adds PFHxS-Na to toxics release inventory, expanding PFAS reporting

Court battle over EPA PFAS rule turns to procedural fight

AWWA-v-EPA-PFAS-Our-Opposition-to-Motion-to-Sever (PDF)  

Additional AWWA Resources for these court proceedings

EPA Motion to Sever and Hold Challenges to Index PFAS in Abeyance

Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era tariffs, raising implications for infrastructure costs

Trump calls for federal response to Potomac Interceptor collapse

 

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 01:06 – Episode overview (topics the episode will cover)
• 01:19 – PFAS TRI addition explanation (PFHXSNA added to toxics release inventory)
• 04:09 – EPA motion on PFAS drinking water rule (EPA asks court to sever hazard index challenge)
• 09:36 – AWWA & AMWA opposition filing (utilities argue judicial review should remain unified)
• 14:22 – Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariff plan (overview of the decision and implications)
• 16:35 – Potomac Interceptor sewer collapse (political conflict and infrastructure impacts)
• 21:34 – Connecticut stormwater infrastructure challenges (Meriden compliance gaps and repairs)
• 22:54 – San Diego stormwater failures (flooding, lawsuits, funding shortfall)
• 24:13 – Housekeeping (polls, nominations, and program updates)

About the Podcast  

Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Wastewater Digest (WWD), WaterWorld (WW) and Stormwater Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and interviews with experts across the municipal water industry. New episodes of the podcast are released every other week. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com.