Demand that the EPA include microplastics in federal drinking water monitoring under the Safe Drinking Water Act's unregulated contaminant process.

Booker, Merkley, Krishnamoorthi, Bynum Urge EPA to Begin Monitoring Microplastics in America's Drinking Water

Booker joined colleagues in urging EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to include microplastics in drinking water monitoring.

Booker, Merkley, Krishnamoorthi, Bynum Urge EPA to Begin Monitoring Microplastics in America's Drinking Water
primary · press_release · model gpt-5.5

EPA states that it announced the draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List on April 2, 2026, including 75 chemicals, 4 chemical groups and 9 microbes. The page was last updated June 25, 2026.

Within the lookback window, EPA's current CCL page confirms microplastics reached the draft CCL 6 stage, but this is a candidate-list action, not inclusion in UCMR drinking-water monitoring.

partial same_term

Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) and Regulatory Determination | US EPA
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 93%

EPA says the draft CCL 6 includes four chemical groups: microplastics, pharmaceuticals, PFAS and disinfection byproducts. EPA sought comment, with comments due by June 5, 2026.

EPA has included microplastics in the draft CCL 6, which is a meaningful step toward future SDWA consideration but still short of requiring federal drinking-water monitoring under UCMR.

partial same_term

Draft Contaminant Candidate List 6 - CCL 6 | US EPA
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 96%

The Federal Register notice says draft CCL 6 includes microplastics as one of four chemical groups and that EPA will consider comments before determining the final CCL 6. Comments closed June 5, 2026; the page showed 21,911 comments received as of July 7, 2026.

The latest official docket status shows the microplastics proposal is still under review after comments, so the monitoring commitment remains unresolved rather than delivered.

unresolved same_term

Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 6-Draft
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 96%

EPA states that publication of the CCL does not impose requirements on public water systems, that final CCL 6 is expected by November 17, 2026, and that later regulatory determinations are a separate process.

EPA's own FAQ confirms the draft CCL action does not yet require utilities to monitor for microplastics and remains procedurally unfinished as of July 8, 2026.

unresolved same_term

CCL 6 Frequent Questions | US EPA
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 95%

EPA says the CCL is the first step in the SDWA framework and informs future UCMR selections. The notice also says microplastics have significant data gaps, including the need for a validated analytical method for drinking water.

This supports a partial outcome: microplastics are now in the CCL pipeline, but EPA has not yet made the scientific and procedural decisions needed for UCMR monitoring.

partial same_term

Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 6-Draft
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 94%

EPA says UCMR 5 required sample collection from 2023 through 2025 for 30 chemical contaminants: 29 PFAS and lithium. The UCMR 5 contaminant table does not include microplastics.

The active UCMR 5 monitoring cycle did not deliver microplastics monitoring. Future UCMR selection remains possible, but the specific federal monitoring outcome has not occurred yet.

unresolved same_term

Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule | US EPA
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 95%