ISSUE: Inside PFAS Policy

EPA Asks Court To Resume Stalled Suit Over Biden-Era PFAS SDWA Rule

The Trump EPA is pressing the D.C. Circuit to resume what is expected to be complex litigation challenging the Biden-era rule setting PFAS limits in drinking water, asking the court to direct parties in the consolidated case to submit by Aug. 1 proposals for a schedule and format to complete briefing in the case. “The parties are continuing to confer regarding a proposed format and schedule for completion of briefing in these consolidated cases, including an additional filing to be...

Environmentalists Weigh Appeal Of New Mexico’s Narrow PFAS Fracking Ban

Environmentalists in New Mexico are weighing their next steps after the state’s oil commission declined their request to revisit its recent decision to ban PFAS in only oil and gas fracking rather than in all downhole operations, as the petitioners had originally sought, and the rule is expected to be filed with state officials in the near future. Tim Davis, an attorney for WildEarth Guardians (WEG), the environmental organization behind efforts to ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in oil...

Proposed Rule To End Paper Straw Procurement Does Not Ban PFAS Use

The Trump administration’s proposed rule to end the federal procurement of paper straws does not strictly require purchased straws to be PFAS-free, despite the administration continuing to justify its efforts against paper straws through concerns about the significant health risks from their PFAS content. The proposed rule requires purchased straws to have “the strength and durability of plastic straws,” but it stops short of explicitly banning the purchase of straws that contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), suggesting that PFAS-containing...

House Defense Policy Bill Calls On DOD To Accelerate PFAS Cleanups

The House Armed Services Committee has approved defense authorization legislation that includes several provisions addressing PFAS, including an amendment that would require the Defense Department (DOD) to accelerate PFAS cleanups as well as a measure requiring DOD to provide alternative water to owners of private wells with PFAS exceedances. The committee adopted these and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) amendments during the panel’s July 15 markup of H.R. 3838, the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The...

MDL Judge Orders Talks To Discuss Massive Uptick In PFAS Injury Claims

The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation (MDL) on PFAS contamination is ordering an unscheduled teleconference with attorneys due to concerns that the ballooning number of unfiled personal injury claims -- possibly tens of thousands -- could disrupt the suit as he presses for a “global settlement” ahead of a trial on the first set of injury cases. “The sudden aggregating of a large number of unfiled personal injury claims has the potential of disrupting the orderly operation of the MDL and...

Industry Urges EPA, Congress To Cut Lookback In PFAS Reporting Rule

Manufacturing and technology industry groups are urging EPA to work with Congress to significantly cut the lookback period that companies are currently subjected to when reporting information about their PFAS-containing products under TSCA, arguing the reporting data should reflect current PFAS uses rather than historical uses. EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule requiring manufacturers to report on their per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) uses in products, which Congress required the agency to craft in fiscal year 2020 defense legislation,...

Senate Appropriators Tee Up Potential For Future PFAS Ban In Cosmetics

The Senate Appropriations Committee is again urging the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to research PFAS in cosmetics ahead of a possible regulation to ban the chemicals’ use in makeup, reiterating previous advice to move forward on the issue. The request comes in non-binding report language attached to the FDA/Agriculture Department (USDA) appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026, and it might signal growing pressure to address PFAS in products -- something some states have been aggressively pursuing. The Senate Appropriations...

Lawyers Urge Medical Device Producers To Prepare For EU PFAS Rules

Lawyers are advising domestic medical device manufacturers to prepare for potential European Union regulations that may prohibit or restrict PFAS use in their products, particularly encouraging stakeholders to engage with the regulatory authorities if they are struggling to identify non-PFAS chemical alternatives for their products. “This is really where the importance of contributing to the process and explaining your use needs of PFAS is so fundamental in this process,” said Eléonore Mullier, a lawyer with Steptoe, during a June 26...

Industry Criticizes Minnesota’s PFAS Reporting Despite Deadline Extension

Industry groups are continuing to criticize Minnesota’s approach to reporting requirements for PFAS-containing products, including the strict due diligence standard and the lack of de minimis thresholds, even as they express appreciation for regulators’ decision to delay the Jan. 1, 2026, reporting deadline. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced last month that it planned to delay the deadline for its sweeping per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in products reporting program following industry criticism that there would not be...

NACWA Argues PFAS Report Discounts Industry, Residential Contamination

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which represents wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), is criticizing a recent report from environmentalists that largely attributes PFAS contamination to treatment facilities, arguing the report discounts contamination contributions from industry and residential uses. “It sort of tries to pinpoint wastewater utilities as the substantial [source] of PFAS, but you’re seeing it upstream of wastewater utilities as well as downstream, and I would say there’s a marginal difference between what’s being found upstream versus...

House Appropriators Seek To Bar Final EPA Biosolids PFAS Assessment

House Republican appropriators are seeking to bar EPA from moving forward with a Biden-era draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids that could result in new regulation, one of several policy riders in draft fiscal year 2026 spending legislation that aim to limit past environmental policies. “None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce” the draft risk assessment of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic...

Connecticut Urges 2nd Circuit To Reject 3M’s Bid For Federal Removal

Connecticut is urging the 2nd Circuit to reject 3M’s argument that the state’s PFAS contamination suit belongs in federal court, contending that an appellate ruling favoring federal removal in a similar case involving Maryland and South Carolina, that 3M heavily depends on, did not appropriately determine that 3M had a “colorable federal defense.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit’s “determination that 3M had satisfied the causal-nexus requirement was premised on a standard that is contrary to the...

Parties Provide New Details On Injunction Bid In Chemours PFAS Permit Suit

Environmentalists and PFAS manufacturer Chemours are providing a federal district court with additional arguments on whether environmentalists have met standing and “irreparable harm” requirements to obtain a preliminary injunction that could require an immediate limit on PFAS discharges at Chemours’ West Virginia facility. The new briefs from Chemours and West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC) are the latest in a series of filings following a May 21-23 preliminary injunction hearing before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West...

OECD Urges Research On PFAS Alternatives For Lubricants, Hydraulic Oils

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is urging national governments and agencies to prioritize risk management measures and research for PFAS in hydraulic oils and lubricants, as the group raises concerns about the lack of effective and available non-PFAS chemical alternatives for the two products. “While some progress is being made in substituting PFASs in these uses, and various non-fluorinated alternatives have been identified, manufacturers and downstream users of lubricants have highlighted the technical and economic challenges in...

House Defense Authorizers Weigh Broadening PFAS Foam Exemptions

The House Armed Services Committee, in a draft defense reauthorization bill, is proposing to revise requirements governing limits on PFAS-containing firefighting foam by reopening Defense Department (DOD) purchases of the foam for another year and broadening exemptions for use while still maintaining the existing law’s timeline for a general ban on its use. The draft fiscal year 2026 defense authorization bill also contains several reporting requirements for DOD related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including measures requiring detailed reporting...

NDWAC Meeting May Provide Details On EPA’s SDWA PFAS Rule Revisions

EPA’s plan to consult with its drinking water advisory committee at a public meeting later this month on proposed revisions to its PFAS drinking water limits may provide a first glimpse of much-anticipated details on how the agency expects to retain part of the Biden-era rule while rescinding and reconsidering other aspects of it. In a notice published in the Federal Register July 10, EPA announces that its Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water will meet with the...

UCMR5 Data Shows Weaker PFAS Rule Will Have Limited Impact On Utilities

Recently analyzed PFAS data from drinking water systems is showing that EPA’s plan to rescind and potentially revise Biden-era drinking water standards for four PFAS would likely have little impact on the number of water systems needing to treat their water for PFAS contamination. The regulatory relief for water systems if the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) rule is pared back may be limited, notes Steph Tatham, a former policy analyst with the Office of Management & Budget’s Office of...

House Lawmakers Push Bill To Boost DOD Transparency On PFAS Cleanups

Two House lawmakers from Michigan are pushing legislation that would increase the Defense Department’s (DOD) accountability to the public on its efforts to clean up PFAS contamination, as DOD undertakes investigations and cleanups of the chemicals at hundreds of bases that are expected to exceed $9 billion. Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) introduced the Military PFAS Transparency Act June 27, aimed at getting the military to provide more information to more than 600 communities across the...

House Lawmakers Urge VA To Assess Cancer Links With PFAS Blood Testing

House lawmakers are advising the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to employ advanced blood testing methods to detect PFAS as part of its efforts to determine potential links between exposure to the chemicals during military service and kidney cancer, while also targeting specific funds for PFAS cleanup at BRAC bases. The advice is included in the House Appropriations Committee report , dated June 10, attached to the fiscal year 2026 military construction, veterans affairs, and related agencies appropriations bill. The...

Washington State Requires PFAS Biosolids Monitoring, Eyes More Steps

Washington state has enacted a comprehensive biosolids law requiring facilities to monitor PFAS contamination in biosolids, after which regulators will make recommendations on how the chemicals should be addressed, illustrating how states are forging ahead with tackling PFAS in biosolids despite federal inaction. The legislation, SB 5033 , takes effect July 27, after Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed it into law May 17. The bill unanimously passed the House April 10 on a 95-0 vote and the Senate April 17...

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