PORTSMOUTH - A state legislative committee is set to vote Thursday on water quality standards for PFAS chemicals that are substantially lower than the ones set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Andrea Amico is a Portsmouth mother and wife whose children and husband were exposed to high levels of PFAS while drinking contaminated water from the city-owned Haven Well.

She called the scheduled vote “a critical moment in New Hampshire to take very protective and proactive steps to help protect residents from these chemicals.”

The New Hampshire Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) is scheduled to vote on the proposed maximum contaminant levels (MCLs)/drinking water standards for PFAS and ambient groundwater quality standards (AGQS) at its Thursday meeting.