PFAS POLICY

Fearing PFAS Compliance Deadlines, Utilities Seek Schedule In SDWA Case

Water utilities are urging the D.C. Circuit to finalize a briefing schedule for litigation challenging the Biden-era PFAS drinking water limits, arguing the case should be resolved quickly on the merits due to looming compliance deadlines for the utilities. “Water Associations believe they will be prejudiced by further delay in the resolution of the merits of these consolidated cases,” the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), petitioners in the litigation, said in a Sept...

3M To Appeal Federal Ruling Remanding Texas PFAS Suit To State Court

3M is planning to appeal a recent federal district court’s decision to remand to state court Texas’ litigation alleging 3M and DuPont misrepresented the safety of their PFAS-containing consumer products, disputing the district court’s finding that the case is not effectively a class action and hence should not be heard in federal court. “[T]his case presents a serious legal question about the application of [the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA)] -- one the Fifth Circuit has not squarely answered, and...

Michigan Regulators Weigh Legal Options After PFAS Rules Struck Down

Michigan regulators are weighing their legal options after a state appeals court, on remand and in a split decision, again struck down the state’s PFAS drinking water limits and found that none of the procedural issues the Michigan Supreme Court cited to vacate an earlier decision to throw out the regulations affect the litigation’s viability. In a 2-1 decision , the Michigan Court of Appeals Sept. 19 reinstated a lower court’s order holding that Michigan’s drinking water regulations for seven...

Longer Timelines For DOD PFAS Cleanups May Boost Transparency Bills

The Defense Department’s (DOD) quiet release of an updated schedule showing delays for PFAS cleanup work could fuel support for pending legislation included in the House version of the fiscal year 2026 defense policy bill that would require greater public transparency from the department on its PFAS cleanup efforts. Reacting to findings that DOD has extended the timeline for cleaning up PFAS contamination at numerous sites, Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, says...

Padilla Eyes Relief For PFAS Passive Receivers As Bill Remains Uncertain

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), a member of the Senate environment committee, is signaling he is leaving the door open to supporting a bill limiting Superfund liability for a narrow set of “passive receivers” of PFAS contamination, a sign that any effort to enact such protections could win bipartisan support though the panel has yet to advance legislation. Padilla “recognizes the importance of this issue and wants to work with other [Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW)] members to develop legislation...

GAO Urges DOE To Step Up Efforts To Determine PFAS Cleanup Needs

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is pressing the Energy Department (DOE) to step up efforts -- and set a deadline -- for surveying the more than 100 sites it has yet to investigate for historical and current uses of PFAS, data GAO says will be key to prioritizing cleanups and estimating costs. GAO points out that while DOE policy memos direct all of DOE’s sites to characterize per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) use, they lack clear deadlines for completing such...

Minnesota Finalizes Tiered PFAS Biosolids Strategy Amid Federal Inaction

Minnesota regulators have finalized a tiered biosolids strategy requiring facilities to test their biosolids for PFAS before land application and mandating different subsequent actions depending on the PFAS concentration, marking yet another example of states moving ahead with measures to limit PFAS in biosolids amid federal uncertainty. Starting Sept. 1, this year, wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) that land apply biosolids in Minnesota are required to collect “one biosolids sample per cropping year (September 1 through August 31) and analyze it...

In Test, Air Force Urges Panel To Send New Mexico State Claims To MDL

The Air Force is urging a joint judicial panel to reject New Mexico’s opposition to sending the state’s latest PFAS cleanup lawsuit to multidistrict litigation (MDL) governing firefighting foam contamination claims, arguing the new state law claims mirror federal waste law claims previously overseen and then dismissed by the MDL court. The case could test what recourse states have in pursuing their per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) cleanup claims against federal facilities. The Air Force in a Sept. 10 brief...

Industry Groups Up Pressure On Agencies To Preempt State PFAS Rules

Industry groups are increasing pressure on the Trump administration to take actions to preempt PFAS regulations in Minnesota, Maine and other states, renewing calls for EPA to take action under TSCA as well as for the FDA to issue new guidance to reiterate preemption of state actions governing a wide range of regulated products and their packaging. Their calls come as states like Minnesota, Maine and others have been stepping up their efforts to strictly regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...

Industry Stresses Need For Unified Federal Approach To PFAS Regulations

Industry groups are stressing the need for a unified federal approach to PFAS regulations, criticizing the patchwork of laws that has emerged as a result of states like Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico and others implementing their own PFAS prohibitions and other rules that make compliance more difficult and create uncertainty for regulated entities. “The role of the federal government is to ensure that a product that enters interstate commerce is regulated for safety in a uniform fashion,” the Sustainable PFAS...

Agriculture Coalition Urges Broad Array Of Actions To Address PFAS

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the American Farmland Trust’s lead role in developing the recommendations. A wide range of agriculture groups is endorsing a broad set of recommendations for Congress, EPA and other agencies to adopt to tackle PFAS on farms, including calling for EPA to craft health-based PFAS thresholds for land-applied biosolids and for Congress to create dedicated financial relief and support programs for impacted farmers. The recommendations , released Sept. 16,...

New York State Drafts Limits For ‘Unintentionally’ Added PFAS In Apparel

New York state environment regulators are seeking public comment on draft limits for “unintentionally” added PFAS in apparel above which the product will be banned, targeting contamination in products that have stemmed unintentionally from the manufacturing process, which one environmentalist says could be what states focus on next. “That is my hope, that we’re mindful of the PFAS below the surface in terms of what it takes to make products, and looking at how to address that,” Bobbi Wilding, executive...

EPA Plans To Weigh Costs In Future CERCLA Listings, Sparking Criticism

EPA’s plan to develop a framework rule governing future designations of “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, which the agency announced it will craft after deciding to retain the Biden-era rule designating two PFAS, is raising concerns that it will adopt cost as a factor, which one environmentalist says is at odds with the law. The agency announced its plan for the framework rule alongside its surprise decision to retain the landmark rule designating two legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...

Capito Vows To ‘Continue’ Bid To Shield PFAS Receivers From CERCLA

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is welcoming EPA’s decision to retain the Biden-era Superfund rule designating two PFAS as “hazardous substances,” though she is promising to “continue” her prior efforts to protect passive receivers of PFAS from any Superfund liability. “Chairman Capito has long supported a polluter pays model to clean up PFAS contamination,” Capito’s office said in a Sept. 18 statement to Inside PFAS Policy , citing her prior public statements on the...

Utilities Should Begin Collecting Data On Emerging PFAS, Engineers Say

Environmental engineers are encouraging water systems to collect data on the presence of PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that are not currently regulated, stressing that utilities’ existing treatment for certain PFAS may provide data on the detection and removal of other PFAS that could be regulated in the future. “Many utilities will be likely performing pilot testing for PFAS removal over the next year or so,” Jihyon Im, an environmental engineer with CDM Smith, said during a...

In Surprise, EPA Decides To Retain Landmark Biden-Era CERCLA PFAS Rule

In a surprise move, EPA has told a federal appellate court it is planning to retain the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, clearing the way for the agency to defend the measure in a pending industry suit despite recent reports that one top EPA official advocated for the agency to oppose the rule. “EPA has reviewed the underlying rule and has decided to keep the Rule in place,” the agency says in...

Blunting Industry Fear, New Jersey Finds PFAS In Soil Below Cleanup Limits

New Jersey regulators have detected various PFAS in surface soil across the state though the concentrations were found to be below interim soil cleanup standards, effectively blunting industry fears that soil remediation standards for four PFAS might be too stringent for liable parties to attain due to the ubiquity of PFAS in the environment. “Despite the widespread occurrence of many PFAS compounds, no sample had concentrations exceeding [New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP)] current interim residential or non-residential” soil...

Optimistic Industry Groups Ramp Up Advocacy For PFAS Reporting Waivers

Industry representatives are optimistic that the Trump EPA will include several exemptions requested by industry in the agency’s revised PFAS reporting rule under TSCA that would ease burdens on regulated entities, but they are nevertheless ramping up their advocacy and urging officials to adopt a host of waivers. Several industry groups are already meeting -- or preparing to meet -- with White House officials reviewing EPA’s draft Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) proposed rule. And one lawyer said he is...

North Carolina Panel Adopts Delayed Groundwater Limits For Three PFAS

North Carolina’s regulatory oversight panel voted unanimously to adopt long-delayed groundwater standards for three PFAS, as members again defended their decision to whittle down the original proposal from eight PFAS to three, but a subcommittee punted a vote on surface water monitoring and minimization plans to its November meeting. North Carolina’s full Environmental Management Commission (EMC) voted unanimously Sept. 11 to adopt the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) proposed groundwater standards for three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) -- perfluorooctanoic...

Newsom Weighs PFAS-Ban Bill Amid Opposition From Cookware Industry

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is weighing whether to sign or veto a landmark bill passed by state lawmakers that would ban PFAS from five consumer product categories starting in 2028 and from cookware products beginning in 2030, amid strong opposition by numerous industry groups including the cookware manufacturing sector. If Newsom signs the legislation, California would become the largest state to ban PFAS in cookware despite arguments from manufacturers that fluoropolymers like polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), commonly known as Teflon, that...

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