Kansas Senator Roger Marshall voted on June 3, 2026 against taking up a resolution to restore the 2024 limits on mercury and other toxic air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants (roll call 135), which EPA had repealed in February. Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that ends up in the water and soil, concentrating in fish. In August 2026 he voted against taking up a resolution to restore the deadline for chemical makers to report information regarding PFAS uses, production volumes, disposal, exposures, and hazards to EPA (roll call 222), and in 2025 he voted to repeal the rule that kept the largest sources of hazardous air pollution under the strictest controls.
Marshall voted to confirm EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, whose agency proposed to rescind federal drinking-water limits for four "forever chemicals," and in Kansas, PFAS "over the newly established limits were found in tests in Fort Riley and Great Bend," communities whose deadline to meet the limits would move to 2031 under EPA's proposal.
Roger Marshall's Votes and Confirmations on Clean Water and Pollution
- Marshall Voted Against Restoring Mercury Limits on Power Plants in June 2026. On June 3, 2026, Roger Marshall voted no on taking up S.J.Res. 188, which would have overturned EPA's repeal of the 2024 mercury and air toxics standards; it failed 46-53. On Feb. 20, 2026, EPA finalized its repeal of the Biden administration standards regulating HAPs from coal- and oil-fired plants, returning to the 2012 standards, and mercury builds up in fish and is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and young children.
- Marshall Voted Against Restoring the Deadline for Chemical Makers to Report PFAS in August 2026. On August 5, 2026, Marshall voted no on taking up S.J.Res. 187, which would have overturned EPA's delay of the rule requiring manufacturers to report PFAS uses, production and disposal. It failed 48-50. The original submission period was scheduled to begin on November 12, 2024; EPA's 2026 rule starts the data submission period for the PFAS Reporting Rule on January 31, 2027 at the latest, more than two years late, so communities and regulators wait longer for data on where the chemicals are made and released.
- Marshall Voted to Let Major Toxic Air Polluters Escape the Strictest Controls in May 2025. On May 1, 2025, Marshall voted yes on S.J.Res. 31, which passed 52-46 and repealed EPA's 2024 "Once In Always In" rule. On June 20, 2025, Congress repealed the 2024 rule using the Congressional Review Act, so a major source can reclassify as an area source if it reduces its emissions below the threshold and leave the strictest federal controls behind.
- Marshall Cast a Deciding Vote for the Law That Took Back Money for Cleaner Air at Schools and in Polluted Neighborhoods. On July 1, 2025, Marshall voted yes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed 50-50 with the Vice President's vote. The law rescinded unspent funds for environmental and climate justice block grants, for programs to address air pollution at schools, and for diesel emissions reductions from trucks, buses and port equipment.
- Marshall Confirmed the EPA Administrator Who Proposed Dropping Limits on Forever Chemicals in Drinking Water and Delayed Coal Ash Rules. On January 29, 2025, Marshall voted to confirm Lee Zeldin as EPA administrator. On May 18, 2026 his EPA proposed a rule that would rescind Biden-era regulations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and Hazard Index mixtures in drinking water and another to extend the compliance deadlines for the PFOA and PFOS Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for two years, to 2031; the proposals are not yet final. On Feb. 6, 2026, EPA announced a final rule to delay deadlines for coal ash, ash that contains many contaminants, including mercury and arsenic, and it extended deadlines for limits on power-plant wastewater, which carries arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium, chromium, and cadmium. Policy Integrity estimates the wastewater delay puts $2.2 billion a year in net benefits and 112 premature deaths a year at risk.
What the Pollution Rollbacks Roger Marshall Backed Mean for Kansas Water and Air
- Forever chemicals in Kansas water. In Kansas, PFAS over the newly established limits were found in tests in Fort Riley and Great Bend, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported when the 2024 limits were set. EPA under Zeldin has proposed to extend the compliance deadlines for the PFOA and PFOS Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for two years, to 2031, which would give those water systems two more years before they must bring the chemicals under the limits; the proposal is not final.
Frequently Asked Questions About Roger Marshall on Clean water and pollution
What is Roger Marshall's record on clean water and pollution under Trump?
Roger Marshall voted against restoring the 2024 mercury limits on power plants and against restoring the deadline for chemical makers to report PFAS, and voted to repeal the rule keeping major toxic air polluters under the strictest controls. He voted to confirm EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, whose agency proposed to rescind drinking-water limits for four PFAS chemicals and delayed coal ash rules. In Kansas, Fort Riley and Great Bend tested above the 2024 PFAS limits, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
Did Roger Marshall vote to protect drinking water from PFAS forever chemicals?
No. On August 5, 2026, Roger Marshall voted no on taking up a resolution to restore the PFAS reporting deadline for manufacturers, which failed 48-50. The proposal by his confirmed EPA administrator to drop four drinking-water limits is still a proposal, and the 2024 limits remain on the books for now.
Did Roger Marshall vote to restore limits on mercury from coal plants?
No. On June 3, 2026, Roger Marshall voted no on taking up the resolution to restore the 2024 mercury and air toxics standards, which failed 46-53. Mercury from power plants concentrates up the food chain, especially in fish, and it is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and young children.
Last updated: 2026-10-25