Though utilities’ mission is to provide clean water, their trade groups for decades have often fiercely opposed initiatives to improve quality

Several unexpected plaintiffs are behind a legal challenge aiming to kill the Environmental Protection Agency’s groundbreaking new drinking water limits for highly toxic PFAS: the US’s water utilities, represented by their major trade groups.

But utility industry opposition to clean water regulations is nothing new. Though utilities’ mission is to provide the US with clean and safe water, their trade groups have for decades often fiercely opposed initiatives to improve quality.

Utilities have successfully helped kill, delay or weaken virtually all proposed limits on toxic substances like lead, the rocket fuel perchlorate, and carcinogenic disinfectants.