Your PFAS Rights
Your Pfas Rights: what you are entitled to know, and how to demand action
Your water utility sends you a report every year. Most people throw it away.
That report is required by federal law. So is the disclosure of certain contaminants. So is the public notice when a violation occurs. The problem is not that this information does not exist. The problem is that utilities, agencies, and employers are not motivated to make it easy to find or easy to understand.
Your PFAS rights for contamination are different from most water quality problems. It does not show up in color or smell. You cannot detect it without a lab. And the people responsible for it spent decades insisting it was safe. Some of that contamination came from industrial discharge. Some came from firefighting foam used at military bases and airports. Some came from manufacturing facilities that knew what they were releasing and released it anyway.
Federal law gives you specific rights in response to all of this. So does your state. So does your local government, in many cases. These are not suggestions. They are legal obligations placed on utilities, agencies, and employers. When those obligations are not met, you have recourse.
Most people do not know any of this. That is not an accident. Regulatory language is dense. Deadlines are buried in agency websites. Complaint processes are not advertised. The result is that the people most exposed to PFAS contamination are often the least equipped to do anything about it.
This page changes that.
It covers two rights. Your right to know: what water utilities, government agencies, and employers are legally required to tell you. Your right to act: how to contact regulators and elected officials at the federal, state, and local level to demand testing, disclosure, and cleanup. Each section tells you who is responsible, what the law requires, and the exact steps to use it.
Your Right to Know
Several federal laws give you the right to access information about PFAS contamination in your water, your community, and products you use. These are not requests — they are legal entitlements.
Safe Drinking Water Act: Consumer Confidence Reports
Every public water system serving 25 or more people is required by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). This report must include the levels of all detected contaminants, including PFAS that have been tested under EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5), which ran from 2023 to 2025 and required testing for 29 PFAS compounds.
You have the right to request this report from your water utility at any time. If your utility has detected PFAS above the EPA’s maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), they are required to notify you within 30 days.
How to access it: Search your utility’s CCR at epa.gov/ccr by zip code, or contact your water utility directly and request the most recent report in writing.
UCMR5 Data: Your Right to See the Test Results
EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 5 (UCMR5) required public water systems serving more than 3,300 people to test for 29 PFAS compounds between 2023 and 2025. Systems serving 25 to 3,300 people were tested by the EPA directly. All results are publicly available.
How to access it: The full UCMR5 dataset is available at epa.gov/dwucmr. You can search by state, water system name, or PFAS compound. The EWG Tap Water Database at ewg.org/tapwater presents the same data in a more accessible format.
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
EPCRA gives communities the right to know what hazardous chemicals are being stored and released by industrial facilities in their area. Under EPCRA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, facilities that use or release PFAS above reporting thresholds must report that data annually to the EPA.
As of January 2025, nine additional PFAS were added to the TRI reporting list, bringing the total to 205 reportable PFAS compounds. Reports are due July 1, 2026 for the 2025 reporting year.
How to access it: Search TRI data by zip code or facility name at epa.gov/tri. This tells you which facilities near you are releasing PFAS and in what quantities.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to request records held by any federal agency, including the EPA, the Department of Defense, and the FDA. This includes internal studies, site assessments, contamination data, enforcement correspondence, and regulatory documents related to PFAS.
Most states have equivalent open records or public records laws that apply to state agencies, giving you access to state-level PFAS investigation files, testing data, and communications.
How to file a request: Submit a FOIA request to the EPA at epa.gov/foia. For the Department of Defense, use defense.gov/Resources/FOIA. Agencies have 20 business days to respond. For state records, contact your state’s environmental agency directly.
Private Wells: No Federal Disclosure Right, But State Protections Exist
The Safe Drinking Water Act does not cover private wells. If you rely on a private well, the federal disclosure requirements above do not apply to your water supply. You have no federally guaranteed right to be informed of nearby contamination that may affect your well.
However, several states have enacted protections. Some states require notification of private well owners when contamination is discovered nearby. Some states fund free testing programs for private wells in known contamination zones, particularly near military bases and industrial sites.
What to do: Contact your state environmental agency to find out whether your state has private well notification requirements and whether free testing is available in your area. If you live near a military base, contact your state’s PFAS coordinator — most states now have one.
State and Local Rights
State law often goes further than federal law on PFAS disclosure. If you live in one of these states, you have additional rights beyond what federal law provides.
State
What You Are Entitled To
Maine
Maine’s PFAS in Products law requires manufacturers to disclose the use of intentionally added PFAS in products sold in the state. You have the right to request this information from manufacturers. Maine also funds PFAS testing for private wells near known contamination sites.
Michigan
Michigan has some of the most extensive PFAS testing and disclosure requirements in the country. The state maintains a public PFAS contamination map. Residents near identified sites are entitled to free bottled water and testing under state programs.
Minnesota
Minnesota requires notification of residents and well owners near PFAS contamination sites. The state operates a PFAS monitoring program and publishes contamination data publicly. Private well owners in affected areas are entitled to state-funded testing.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire enacted some of the earliest state PFAS drinking water standards. Utilities that exceed state MCLs must notify affected customers and provide information on health effects and alternative water sources.
New Jersey
New Jersey has set MCLs for multiple PFAS compounds beyond the federal six. Utilities detecting PFAS above state MCLs must notify customers and report to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.
Vermont
Vermont requires water systems to test for PFAS and notify customers of results. The state publishes all PFAS monitoring data online. Vermont also has a groundwater contamination notification program for private well owners.
Washington
Washington’s PFAS regulations require disclosure in multiple product categories and give residents the right to request information about PFAS use from manufacturers of covered products.
All other states
At minimum, the federal SDWA CCR and UCMR5 rights apply. Contact your state environmental agency to ask what additional PFAS disclosure requirements exist in your state.
Your Right to Act
Knowing about contamination is the first step. Acting on it is the second. You have the PFAS rights to contact regulators and elected officials at every level of government and demand a response. Government agencies are required to log and respond to formal complaints. Elected officials answer to constituents.
How to file a formal complaint
1
Document what you know. Gather your water test results, CCR data, UCMR5 results, or any other evidence of contamination. Write down dates, levels detected, and the source of the information.
A written record makes your complaint more credible and harder to dismiss. Keep copies of everything you send.
2
Contact your state drinking water agency first. State agencies enforce both federal and state drinking water standards. They have authority to require your water utility to test, treat, and notify customers. A complaint to your state agency creates an official record.
Find your state drinking water agency at epa.gov/drink/local-drinking-water-information.
3
File a complaint with the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline. The EPA hotline accepts complaints about violations of federal drinking water standards including PFAS MCL exceedances.
Call 1-800-426-4791 or submit online at epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/safe-drinking-water-hotline.
4
Report industrial PFAS releases to the EPA’s enforcement office.If you believe a nearby facility is releasing PFAS into the environment, file a complaint with EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Use the EPA’s complaint form at epa.gov/enforcement/report-environmental-violations.
5
Contact your local health department. Local health departments have authority to investigate environmental health complaints and can escalate to state and federal agencies on your behalf.
How to file a formal complaint
Elected officials at every level have direct influence over PFAS regulation, funding for cleanup, and accountability for contaminated sites. A constituent contact is logged and tracked. A pattern of contacts from the same district moves issues up the priority list.
Sample contact letter: requesting PFAS testing information
You can adapt this letter to contact your water utility, state environmental agency, or elected official. Keep it factual, specific, and dated. Request a written response.
What to Expect When You Make a Complaint
Filing a complaint or contacting an official does not guarantee immediate action. Understanding the process helps you follow up effectively.
Water utility complaints
Your state drinking water agency is required to log and investigate formal complaints. Response times vary by state and severity. If a utility is found to be in violation of SDWA requirements, the state agency can issue compliance orders and fines. If you do not receive a response within 30 days, follow up in writing and copy your state legislators.
EPA complaints
The EPA’s complaint process generates an official case number. The agency is required to acknowledge receipt and investigate potential violations. EPA enforcement actions are slow — measured in months to years — but a formal complaint creates a paper trail that supports future legal action and media coverage.
Elected official contacts
Congressional offices track constituent contacts by issue. A single contact rarely produces direct action, but sustained contacts from multiple constituents in a district do move issues forward. Request a meeting with the official’s caseworker or district representative. Ask specifically what legislation they support on PFAS and what they have done to secure cleanup funding for affected sites.
Organize with neighbors
A group complaint from multiple residents in the same zip code or water service area carries more weight than individual contacts. Environmental organizations including EWG, Clean Water Action, and the Environmental Defense Fund have staff who assist community groups with PFAS complaints and can amplify your efforts with media and legislative contacts.
ForeverChemicals.info provides educational information for general consumers. Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice. Rights described here reflect federal and selected state law as of February 2026. State laws change frequently. Verify current rights and complaint procedures directly with your state environmental agency. If you are considering legal action, consult a licensed attorney. Last updated February 2026.