Press Release:

EPA Region 2 Announces Virtual Listening Session on PFAS Strategic Roadmap

New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Residents and Indian Nations Encouraged to Register and Share Feedback

Contact: Barbara Khan, (720) 595-8698, khan.barbara@epa.gov

NEW YORK (March 16, 2022) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 will host a virtual listening session on March 30, 2023 to get feedback on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap from residents in EPA Region 2, which includes New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands communities and eight Indian Nations. In the session, EPA will provide information about EPA’s ongoing work under the PFAS Strategic Roadmap (2021-2024) and will ask for feedback on this work. In November 2022, EPA announced that the Agency would hold a series of virtual regional community engagement sessions in 2023 to fulfill a key commitment outlined in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap.

“We have made significant progress since EPA developed its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, which outlines specific commitments to address the risks posed by PFAS to people’s health,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This session will give community members and stakeholders a chance to hear about that progress and most importantly to share with us their thoughts on actions we should take moving forward.”

EPA Region 2’s virtual regional community engagement session will be held via Zoom on Thursday, March 30, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST. 

Attendees are encouraged to register to participate in the community engagement session. Spanish interpretation services will be available for those listening via online audio in Zoom, and live closed captioning will be available through Zoom.

Background

In October 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan launched? the Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap (2021-2024)—laying out a whole-of-agency approach to addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The roadmap sets timelines by which EPA plans to take specific actions and commits to bolder new policies to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable over three years. The actions described in the PFAS Roadmap each represent important and meaningful steps to safeguard communities from PFAS contamination. Cumulatively, these actions will build upon one another and lead to more enduring and protective solutions.

In November 2022, EPA released “A Year of Progress Under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap,” which underscores key actions taken by the agency during the first year of implementing the PFAS Roadmap. EPA continues to implement a whole-of-agency approach, advancing science, and following the law to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable. Concurrently with this one-year progress report, EPA announced that it will hold virtual community engagement events in each EPA Region in 2023, which EPA Region 2 is announcing today.

These engagements align with recommendations from the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and EPA’s Roadmap commitment to engage directly with communities and stakeholders. Recognizing the unique and pervasive impacts of PFAS on Indian Nations, EPA is also planning to hold a session specifically designed to hear from our Indian Nation partners.

More information on EPA’s efforts on PFAS.

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