Featured-PFAS

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...

States Doubt EPA’s PFAS Priority, Sparking Pushback From Top Official

SANTA FE, NM -- Some state officials are questioning EPA’s level of commitment to addressing PFAS pollution, particularly regarding policies on how best to destroy the chemicals, and are suggesting that states should take the lead on the issue, though a top EPA waste official is defending the agency’s approach. The concerns -- expressed during the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) fall meeting here -- also come as some states are expressing concern that the Trump EPA might reverse...

EPA Rule Agenda Details Plans To Delay, Revise Biden-Era PFAS Measures

The Trump EPA is planning to move ahead with a number of PFAS regulatory policies initiated by the Biden administration though it is expected to scale back the stringency of some of the rulemakings and in general has slowed the schedule for issuing new PFAS rules, according to the spring 2025 Unified Agenda. Released Sept. 4, the Unified Agenda -- the first to be released during President Donald Trump’s second term -- includes plans for a host of per- and...

Biosolids PFAS Report Should Reflect More Realistic Conditions, States Say

State regulators are urging the Trump EPA to revise the modeling underpinning the Biden-era draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids to make it more applicable to state-specific conditions and outcomes, cautioning that the assessment’s use of certain risk assumptions and biosolids application rates fails to reflect realistic state practices. But state agencies do not all agree on the direction EPA should take. Some state regulators argue EPA should use stricter risk scenarios, such as accounting for infants...

Lawmakers Seek To Strike Defense Bill Measure Paring Back AFFF Phaseout

Two lawmakers have filed amendments aimed at eliminating a measure pending in the House defense authorization bill that would delay the Defense Department’s (DOD) phaseout of firefighting foam containing PFAS and expand an exemption for using the foam, signaling opposition to an attempt to weaken the phaseout requirements. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) -- co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force -- and George Whitesides (D-CA) filed separate but identical amendments to the House Rules Committee that would strike section...

Water Systems Urge Trump EPA To Revise PFAS Biosolids Risk Assessment

Water systems and biosolids advocates are urging the Trump EPA to revise the modeling, including risk scenarios and human exposure assumptions, underlying the Biden-EPA’s draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids, charging it improperly calculated risks and overstated the harm the chemicals cause. “Overall, projected risks from individual pathways are overestimated as the risk assessment focuses on ‘worst-case scenarios,’” the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which represents publicly owned wastewater and stormwater agencies, says in an...

EPA Said To Reverse Support For CERCLA PFAS Rule, Eying Repeal

A top EPA waste official appears to be steering the agency toward reversing its planned support for the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law after hearing industry’s objections to the landmark regulation, with Administrator Lee Zeldin likely to soon decide whether to back the new position. According to The New York Times , Steven Cook, principal deputy assistant administrator in the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), in late July met...

Lawyers Urge Pushback After ECHA Declines To Review Revised PFAS Plan

Industry lawyers are urging domestic manufacturers to resist plans by European regulators to not submit a recently released amendment to a proposed universal PFAS ban to their scientific committees for review, saying they should press officials to consider the amendment, which adds eight product categories and exempts some applications from the rule. “Industries that benefit from the new derogations should weigh in during the public consultation on the [scientific committee’s] draft opinion, lobby the [European] Commission, and potentially the [European]...

Engineers Warn Of Costly, Complex Surface Water Treatment For PFAS

Environmental engineers are advising utilities to prepare for their treatment technology needs to tackle PFAS in surface water, emphasizing how the medium is often more difficult and expensive to treat, at a time when utilities are already struggling under the regulatory uncertainty from the proposed changes to the PFAS drinking water limits. “PFAS treatment for surface water is still [] relatively uncharted territory, mostly because much of our industry’s experience in PFAS removal has been from groundwater sources,” Jihyon Im,...

EPA Expects To Delay Final Rule For TRI PFAS Additions, Budget Says

The Trump EPA says it still intends to finalize a Biden-era plan to add more than 100 PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), though it is delaying even further the rule’s timeline while saying it will align it with the “Administration’s priorities” -- signaling it may apply a de minimis exemption that could largely curtail reporting levels. Although it is unclear how the Trump EPA may change the rule, it appears likely the agency will revert to exercising...

EU Proposes To Curtail Sweeping PFAS Ban, Exempt Some Fluoropolymers

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is proposing to scale back a sweeping 2023 plan that would have phased out the use of PFAS across all industry sectors, suggesting broadening and extending exemptions for certain applications, such as for fluoropolymers, though American manufacturers are still voicing concern over the potential for strict bans. ECHA in an Aug. 20 press release announced that Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden updated their proposal that restricts the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...

2023 TRI Analysis Shows Facilities Treated More PFAS Waste, Cut Releases

Facilities managed more PFAS waste in 2023 compared to previous years, according to EPA’s new analysis of 2023 data reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), but more of that waste was treated than before, resulting in a reduction in releases through air, water, land and other media compared to 2022. But the data for 2024 is expected to show an increase in volumes of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) waste as 2023 was the last reporting year when facilities...

Court Cancels PFAS Personal Injury Trial, Seeks Unfiled Claims’ Submittal

The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation (MDL) on PFAS contamination has canceled, for now, what would have been the first bellwether trial to hear personal injury claims and related pretrial preparation in response to the swelling number of personal injury claims that have yet to be filed. Instead, Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina is ordering plaintiffs’ attorneys to file these claims in the next few weeks or miss out on new incentives...

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