Is the Rumor That the Manufacturer of Berkey Water Filters is Going Out of Business and Closing its Doors True?

No, we are NOT going out of business! The company that owns Berkey water filters is not going out of business, either.

New Millennium Concepts Ltd., the company that manufactures Berkey water filter systems, has been in business for more than 25 years.  We have been an authorized Berkey dealer for over 16 years, supplying consumers across the country with state-of-the-art water filtration systems, and will continue to offer Berkey products for many years to come. As a trusted distributor/dealer of Berkey products, we will continue to supply Berkey water filter systems and provide our customers with the high level of service and after-sales support they are accustomed to. 

What is Going on with Berkey Water Filters?

At the end of 2022, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), without undertaking any administrative process, used its regulatory authority to classify the Berkey water filtration filters, a trusted leader in gravity fed water filtration systems and one of the most popular water filters in the US, as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) claiming that Black Berkey filtering elements contain silver and are a pesticide device since silver is antimicrobial. With this new Pesticide classification, Berkey products would be required to come with warning labels to this effect.

It's important to note that silver is not considered a pesticide under FIFRA, and has not been regulated by the EPA as such before this. As silver is incorporated as a component of thousands of water filters and other consumer products, if it is regulated as a pesticide, manufacturers of these products would also be forced to register their products as pesticides and attach warning labels to them.

Has Berkey Sued the EPA?

In August 2023, the manufacturers of Berkey Water Filtration Systems filed a lawsuit against the EPA to prevent them from classifying Berkey filters as a pesticide, in what is considered by some, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be an abuse of the agency's power in an attempt to put the company out of business.

Despite the Rumors, Berkey Water Systems is Not Going Out of Business

On December 19, 2023, New Millennium Concepts, the manufacturer of Berkey filters, released a statement in response to a dealership closing their doors. The notice below was just released by the manufacturer and owner of Berkey.

It is with deep sorrow that we learn that our longtime distributor BerkeyFilters.com is closing its doors. As you may know, New Millennium Concepts, Ltd. is currently suing the EPA for re-interpreting their rules for the express purpose of classifying Berkey® products alone as Pesticides. The EPA has not utilized this new re-interpretation to stop the sale of any other outdoor water filter, just Berkey® alone. We have been informed that the real issue is that because of COVID-19, the EPA does not like the fact that Berkey® filters are capable of removing viruses from your water.

BerkeyFilters.com was the first dealer to receive a Stop-Sale Order, and we together worked with the EPA to rectify the situation. However, after working with the EPA for about eight months, it became apparent that the EPA would accept nothing less than the bankruptcy of New Millennium, its dealers, and more importantly preventing you the public from being self-sufficient in terms of cleaning difficult-to-remove contaminants from your drinking water. Accordingly, we sued the EPA and the case is now in the Appeals Court. We are now in appeal because, amazingly, the district court ruled that New Millennium had not been harmed by the EPA issuing Stop-Sale orders to its dealers, its manufacturing facility and other vendors, and therefore had no standing in that court. Unfortunately, over the course of the past year, the folks at BerkeyFilters.com have fallen victim to this overreach by the EPA. We wish them the best.

Having said that, we want to clear up any confusion between New Millennium Concepts, Ltd. (NMCL) the manufacturer and brand owner of Berkey® Water Systems, and Berkeyfilters.com. Berkeyfilters.com is no longer an authorized Berkey® dealer, and again, is closing its doors.

We at New Millennium Concepts, Ltd. assure you that the Berkey® brand is alive and well and is still the trusted leader in gravity-fed water filtration systems and products. To be clear: New Millennium is not closing its doors and is actively engaged in fighting the EPA's overreach and its attempt to control and prevent the public from purifying their drinking water.

Why are Berkey Filters Out of Stock?

If you are wondering why are Berkey filters out of stock at many authorized dealers, here is the answer. The EPA has issued Berkey water filters with a stop-sale order, requiring all Berkey water filters to carry pesticide warning labels before being sold to customers. As the manufacturers of Berkey systems are in the process of contesting this, they will not be producing some of the Berkey products until the legal action against the EPA is concluded. Stock you do see online stock is that which was already produced prior to the stop sale.

When Will Berkey Water Filters Be Back in Stock in the USA?

Berkey filters will be back in stock once legal action with the EPA has concluded. The outcome of the court case will determine whether Berkey filters will be forced to carry warning labels in the future, or if an injunction is granted so that the filters can resume current production as prior to the stop sale. However, while the manufacturers navigate this difficult transition, some authorized Berkey distributors still have a limited stock of Berkey systems and replacement Black Berkey filter elements available.

Why are some Berkey Water Filters dealers closing?

Some Berkey dealers were targeted and have been issued with a Stop-Sale Order by the EPA and cannot continue selling Berkey products unless they contain the newly required warning label. Understandably, this is very damaging to any small business, as most small businesses cannot pay their overheads and remain in business if they cannot sell their products. 

Who Else is Probing the EPA?

Besides the legal action being taken by New Millennium Concepts requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the EPA to prevent it from enforcing the pesticide registration requirement on Berkey products, US Congressman Matt Gates (R-Fl) is also probing the EPA's new ruling. Congressman Gates recently submitted an open letter to EPA Administrator Regan requesting supporting documents to substantiate these new regulatory requirements, which not only discriminate against Berkey, but could harm the very public whose safety they are supposed to protect. Please read his letter to the EPA here.

As we navigate this difficult transition and its associated challenges, we are deeply grateful for the trust shown to us over the many years that we have been providing quality Berkey filtration systems and Black Berkey filtering products. We hope to maintain this trust and loyalty as we will continue to serve our clients in the future. Be confident that filters and systems will become more readily available in the future, however that exact timeline is not yet known, but we are hopeful it’s in the very near term.