In an effort to improve drinking water in New York, the state Department of Health proposed a slate of new regulations.

"New Yorkers should know that their drinking water is among the most protected in the country,” state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said on the state’s website, where the release of the proposals was announced.

Per - and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, will be further scrutinized by the state with 23 more contaminants added to the watchlist.

Spectrum News 1 requested an interview with DOH leaders Wednesday, but did not hear back.

"New York has been leading the way on emerging contaminants and today's announcement represents another important milestone,” Bassett said.

Maximum contaminant levels set by the state don’t seem to reflect the Environmental Protection Agency’s on the forever chemicals. Heath advisories issued by the EPA in June suggest the tiniest amounts of contaminated drinking water can present danger to human health.

“This is just another example where DOH and the governor are a day late and a dollar short,” Poestenkill Town Board member Eric Wohlleber said.

Contaminated water was discovered in several private wells surrounding Algonquin Middle School in in Poestenkill. Wohlleber has been critical of the state’s response.

“We shouldn’t even be talking about this. We should be talking about zero. Zero is the number we should be looking at,” he said. “In Massachusetts and Maine, they have better standards.”

Almost two years later, the source of the contaminants in Poestenkill is unknown, but an investigation is ongoing.

“Throughout the summer, our crews were out doing various field investigations at potential locations that we’ve spoken to the community about,” said Sean Mahar of the Department of Environmental Conservation. “We’re also drilling new monitoring wells and test wells at different depth of the bedrock in the area.”

More rigorous testing, reporting and public notification would also be required under DOH’s proposals, which now enter a 60-day public review and comment period before they can be adopted.