New York’s $15M PFAS Rebate Program: What’s Covered and What’s Next

In April 2026, Governor Hochul announced a $15 million Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot. The initial pilot covers six counties: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. Each county receives an initial $1.5M in funding. Eligible residents on private wells in those counties can access free PFAS testing and a rebate to install treatment or connect to public water.

This post explains what the PFAS rebate program covers, how it fits into New York and New Jersey’s broader PFAS work, what the program means for Long Island and Nassau County specifically, and what residents and building owners can do today regardless of whether their county is in the initial pilot.

What is the New York PFAS rebate program?

The PFAS rebate program is a state-funded pilot focused on private-well households. Its scope is narrow: testing and mitigation rebates for residents whose drinking water comes from a private well rather than a public utility. The program does not address building-side fixtures (commercial, multi-family, or schools), and it does not address utility-side compliance (which is the responsibility of public water systems).

The PFAS rebate program is one of several active New York state water programs. New York maintains drinking-water Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane that are tighter than the new federal standards announced this spring, which means New York’s state-level standards now serve as the practical floor for residents and businesses across the metro. New Jersey has parallel state-level PFAS standards and an enacted ban on Class B firefighting foams containing PFAS. Both states have been active on PFAS for years.

Where does Long Island fit?

Two weeks before the PFAS rebate program was announced, Newsday published a review of school testing reports showing nearly 3,000 drinking-water fixtures across Long Island schools exceeded the state’s 5 ppb lead action level. The reporting concentrated in Nassau communities including Bethpage, Hicksville, Massapequa, and West Hempstead. School fixtures are a different layer of the water system than utility-side compliance. Once water leaves the main and enters a building’s plumbing, it travels through fixtures, fittings, solder joints, and aging pipes, any of which can introduce contaminants not present at the curb.

Of Long Island’s two main counties, Suffolk is in the PFAS rebate pilot. Nassau is not. The state has not announced whether Nassau will be added in a Phase 2 expansion. The criteria used for the initial six-county selection have not been fully detailed publicly, and additional information may emerge as the program rolls out.

What are Nassau utilities already doing about PFAS?

For residents on public water in Nassau, the PFAS rebate program is not the relevant instrument. The program is private-well-only, and most Long Island residents are served by public water systems. Those systems are operating active treatment infrastructure today: VOC air-stripping, granular activated carbon, nitrate removal, and disinfection across the larger districts.

Of the nine Nassau utilities baselined in our public water-quality database at water.hydr8.us, most are showing PFAS detections at or below current federal MCLs in their most recent Annual Water Quality Reports, with active treatment in place. The utility-side delivery picture is relatively strong, and Nassau utilities deserve credit for the treatment work they are running.

What does the PFAS rebate program gap mean in practice?

The gap the rebate program highlights is two-fold:

1. Private-well households in Nassau have no state-funded testing or mitigation rebate available today. Counties immediately adjacent, including Suffolk and Westchester, are funded. This is the population most directly affected by the initial selection.
2. Building-side fixtures in commercial properties, multi-family residential, and schools are not covered by any state PFAS rebate program. The rebate is private-well-only. The Newsday school-fixture reporting underscores how building-side contamination can occur even when utility-side delivery is compliant. Schools, landlords, and property managers own that layer of responsibility.

This is a shared-responsibility picture. Utilities operate utility-side treatment. Building owners maintain building-side infrastructure. Schools maintain school fixtures. The state operates its rebate and other PFAS programs. Each layer plays a role, and none is alone responsible for the water that comes out of any specific tap.

What can Nassau residents and building owners do now?

For residents on private wells in counties not currently in the PFAS rebate pilot, certified at-the-point-of-use filtration and certified whole-house treatment options exist. The certifications to look for are NSF / ANSI Standard 53 (lead reduction) and NSF / ANSI Standard P473 (PFAS reduction). Reverse osmosis systems add a further layer for both. Independent third-party certification matters more than marketing claims.

For building owners and operators concerned about building-side fixtures, a building-water audit focused on fixtures, fittings, and the age and material composition of internal plumbing is the right starting point. NSF-certified point-of-use systems at the dispenser, particularly in shared-use settings such as school cafeterias, office break rooms, and multi-tenant pantries, can address contamination introduced between the main and the spigot. These systems are not a substitute for utility-side treatment, and they are not a substitute for a building plumbing inspection. They are an additional layer.

For everyone, the most useful first step is to know what’s in your local water at the utility level. Look up your zip code at water.hydr8.us to see the most recent CCR-reported detections for your service area. The data is sourced from public Annual Water Quality Reports and EPA SDWIS records and is updated as utilities publish new reports. Nassau, Suffolk, New York City, and Westchester are all covered.

For deeper context on PFAS and how it shows up in workplace drinking water, see our earlier post on PFAS in workplace drinking water.

What’s next for the PFAS rebate program?

New York’s PFAS work is evolving. The April rebate announcement is one program among several, with both New York and New Jersey continuing to develop their state-level frameworks. The federal rule’s partial rollback in April pushes more weight to state programs, which makes the next phase of state action particularly consequential. Newsday’s reporting on Long Island school fixtures is likely to continue as more districts publish current testing data.

For residents and building operators, the practical question is not whether utilities or government bodies are doing enough. It is whether you have a clear picture of what’s in the water at the specific tap that matters to you, and what options you have if you want to add another layer of protection. The PFAS rebate program is one piece of that picture. The water-quality database at water.hydr8.us is another.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nassau County in the New York PFAS rebate program?
Not in the initial six-county pilot announced in April 2026. The pilot covers Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. The state has not announced whether Nassau will be added in a Phase 2 expansion.

Which counties are in the New York PFAS rebate program?
Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. Each county receives an initial $1.5M in funding for testing and mitigation rebates for private-well households.

Can residents on public water get PFAS rebates?
The PFAS rebate program is specifically for private-well households. It does not provide rebates for residents on public water systems. Public water systems are subject to separate utility-side PFAS standards.

What can Nassau residents do about PFAS in their water now?
Look up your local utility at water.hydr8.us to see the most recent CCR-reported detections. For private-well households, NSF P473-certified point-of-use treatment can address PFAS at the tap. For commercial buildings, a building-water audit and NSF-certified point-of-use systems at shared-use dispensers can address building-side concerns.

Where can I find Long Island water quality data?
water.hydr8.us covers Nassau, Suffolk, New York City, Westchester, and parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The data is sourced from public Annual Water Quality Reports and EPA SDWIS records, and is updated as utilities publish new reports.

Sources

1. Office of Governor Kathy Hochul, “Governor Hochul Launches Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot Program” (April 2026). https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/new-york-state-launches-private-well-pfas-testing-and-mitigation-rebate-pilot-program-six
2. Citizens Campaign for the Environment, “Lead in School Water: 3,000 Fixtures Above State Limit on Long Island, Newsday Finds” (April 21, 2026). https://www.citizenscampaign.org/whats-new-at-cce/2026/4/21/lead-in-school-water-3000-fixtures-above-state-limit-on-long-island-newsday-finds
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “EPA Announces It Will Keep Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA, PFOS” (April 2026). https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-it-will-keep-maximum-contaminant-levels-pfoa-pfos
4. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, “PFAS Standards.” https://dep.nj.gov/pfas/standards/