ISSUE: Inside PFAS Policy

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...

Parties Eye December Deadline To Complete Briefing On SDWA PFAS Rule

EPA and other parties involved in litigation challenging Biden-era PFAS drinking water limits are hoping to complete by the end of the year the briefing that will determine the fate of the landmark rule, proposing a schedule to the D.C. Circuit that would consider “the need for prompt resolution of merits briefing in these consolidated cases.” The Sept. 12 joint unopposed motion to establish briefing format and schedule from the various parties comes soon after the Trump EPA formally asked...

Trump EPA Asks D.C. Circuit To Vacate Four PFAS Drinking Water Limits

The Trump EPA is urging the D.C. Circuit to vacate four of six Biden-era drinking water standards for PFAS, arguing the agency did not follow mandatory procedural requirements when it promulgated them, in an effort to quickly resolve legal questions over whether officials can follow through on their plan to withdraw the landmark limits. The Biden “EPA initially attempted to defend the Rule against forceful legal challenges raised in these petitions for review,” the Trump EPA says in a Sept...

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...

Split Over SDWA PFAS Case, EPA, Parties Again Ask Court For More Time

The Trump EPA and other parties are split over how to proceed in litigation over the Biden-era PFAS drinking water limits and are again asking the D.C. Circuit for more time, until Sept. 12, to confer on a joint proposal for a briefing schedule to continue litigation. “The parties are conferring in good faith on a briefing schedule, but have not yet reached consensus,” the parties said in an unopposed joint motion to govern filed late Sept. 10. “To afford...

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...

Citing EPA, DOJ Seeks To Delay AFFF MDL Scrutiny Of CERCLA Claims

The Justice Department (DOJ) is asking the court overseeing multi-district litigation (MDL) on PFAS contamination from firefighting foam to stay or deny consideration of a variety of Superfund cost claims, pointing in part to uncertainty over EPA’s active review of the Biden-era rule designating two PFAS as hazardous substances. In a Sept. 8 motion , DOJ asks the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to hold in abeyance Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) sections...

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...

North Carolina Panel Urged To Adopt Enforceable PFAS Groundwater Limits

Members of North Carolina’s environmental regulatory oversight panel are recommending that the full commission approve proposed enforceable groundwater standards for three PFAS, potentially finalizing a long-stalled effort from state regulators to enhance such protections, though the proposal was significantly narrowed in the review process. The Environmental Management Commission (EMC) will meet Sept. 11 to deliberate on the proposed groundwater standards for three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) -- perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid...

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...

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