Featured-PFAS

Chamber Urges Congress To Retain Rollbacks Of PFAS Limits In NDAA

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is urging the House and Senate leaders of the Armed Services committees to include in any final version of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) measures to extend the phaseout timeline for PFAS-based firefighting foam and other provisions that would roll back PFAS-related restrictions. As lawmakers prepare for an upcoming conference committee to resolve differences in their respective versions of the FY26 NDAA, the Chamber, representing industrial and business interests, appeals to...

EPA Adds PFHxS Salt To TRI Reporting List, Following IRIS Toxicity Value

EPA is adding another PFAS to the list of chemicals that regulated facilities must report to the agency under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, as part of an automatic update to the inventory required by law after the agency completes a toxicity value for the chemical or undertakes certain other regulatory activities. The agency’s Oct. 7 addition of sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS-Na) to the TRI means regulated entities must now report 206 PFAS though facilities will not begin tracking their...

Judges Question Maine Over Venue Arguments In 3M Non-AFFF Case

Appellate judges are grappling with Maine’s efforts to keep its cleanup claims against 3M for PFAS contamination separate from that caused by firefighting foam, questioning the state’s lawyers on the adequacy of their attempts to separate the claims given 3M’s bid to hear the issue in a federal venue where it plans to raise its federal defense claims. During Oct. 6 oral argument, judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit pointed to commingling of per- and...

Industry Urges 4th Circuit To Reverse Injunction Over PFAS Discharges

Industry parties are urging the 4th Circuit to lift a trial court’s injunction restricting Chemours’ PFAS discharges into the Ohio River, arguing the decision on environmental plaintiffs’ standing and irreparable harm could impose broad impacts that would set the bar so low as to allow minor regulatory violations to trigger injunctive relief. “The district court’s standing and irreparable-harm rulings are not merely wrong; they threaten to wreak havoc in both areas of law, enabling plaintiffs to obtain injunctive relief for...

EPA Eyes WTE Plants As ‘Passive Receivers’ For PFAS CERCLA Waiver

EPA is suggesting waste-to-energy (WTE) plants that receive municipal solid waste as “feedstock” could qualify as another category of “passive receivers” to earn waivers from Superfund liability for PFAS contamination, a stance that appears to broaden the scope of any waiver just as officials step up their calls for Congress to legislate on the issue. But some sources say that if EPA significantly broadens the categories of passive receivers, that could undermine the Biden-era Superfund rule that the Trump EPA...

Court Dismisses Farmers’ Suit Seeking EPA Biosolids Rules For PFAS

A federal district court has dealt a blow to Texas and Maine farmers who sought to compel EPA to regulate certain PFAS in biosolids, dismissing their lawsuit after finding the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not mandate that EPA identify and regulate sewage sludge pollutants within a prescribed timeline. “Although the plain language of the CWA imposes a non-discretionary duty on EPA to review its regulations on a biennial basis, it does not mandate that EPA also identify and...

Seeking Merits Ruling, NRDC Fights EPA Bid To Split SDWA PFAS Suit

Environmentalists who are defending the Biden-era drinking water standards for six PFAS are urging the D.C. Circuit to weigh EPA’s motion to vacate four of the limits on the merits and ultimately deny the agency’s motion because there was no procedural error in setting the novel standards for the four PFAS. “EPA’s motion should be referred to the merits panel because it requires a merits ruling and raises contested issues that are intertwined with the rest of the case,” Natural...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

California Passes Bill For PFAS Mitigation Fund To Reduce Treatment Costs

California lawmakers have passed a bill that would, if funded in future fiscal year budgets, create a PFAS mitigation fund allowing state water regulators to cover or reduce costs associated with treating PFAS in drinking water, recycled water, stormwater, and wastewater. The bill, SB 454 by Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton), this week unanimously passed the state Senate and Assembly and awaits action by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Oct. 12 is the deadline for the governor to sign or veto bills...

Agriculture Groups Warn PFAS Biosolids Report May Raise Farming Costs

Farming groups and state agriculture officials are raising concerns that the Biden-era draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids is based on incorrect assumptions and could inappropriately serve as the basis for a ban on the land application of PFAS-containing biosolids, which would limit fertilizer options and increase farming costs. “[T]he agricultural community is fearful that this risk assessment will serve as the underpinning for an overly restrictive regulation on biosolid application,” a broad coalition of agriculture-related groups...

House Slated To Delay DOD’s AFFF Phaseout After Panel Blocks Amendment

The House appears slated to approve a defense authorization bill that includes provisions slowing the Defense Department’s (DOD) phase out of PFAS-containing firefighting foam after the Rules Committee rejected amendments that sought to strip the delay as well as other amendments seeking to strengthen PFAS controls. The House began floor consideration of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Sept. 9 following a Rules Committee vote the same day that only allowed one amendment related to per- and...

Capito Renews Support For PFAS Policies As EPA Weighs CERCLA Rule

Senate environment committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is expressing support for PFAS policies that do not impose burdens on taxpayers or essential service providers, echoing her push to shield passive receivers from Superfund liability for PFAS contamination and signaling she may be reticent to back any EPA bid to drop support for the Biden-era Superfund rule. “Senator Capito has long prioritized tackling PFAS contamination through regulations that accurately account for challenges in rural and underserved areas,” said a spokesperson...

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