PFAS POLICY

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...

Judge Scolds Plaintiffs For Seeking To Avoid AFFF MDL In Injury Claims

The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation (MDL) on PFAS contamination from firefighting foam is making clear that personal injury claims stemming from exposure to turnout gear and other sources belong in the MDL, admonishing plaintiffs for seeking to skirt the MDL through “artful pleading” that alleges their PFAS exposures have no link to foam. The judge’s position, spelled out in an Aug. 22 case management order , could be welcome news for defendant manufacturers, as keeping the suits in federal court...

Judge Stays CWA PFAS Citizen Suit Amid Plaintiff Fears Of EPA Intervention

A federal judge has granted chemical manufacturer Chemours’ request to stay a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen suit seeking to enforce discharge limits at its West Virginia plant while the company appeals a landmark preliminary injunction requiring the facility to immediately comply with its permit and limit its releases. While the Aug. 22 order maintains the preliminary injunction, which Chemours did not seek to stay, it is nonetheless a blow to the plaintiffs -- West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC) and...

North Carolina Court Upholds AG’s Enforcement Authority In PFAS Case

A North Carolina state court has upheld the state’s common law enforcement authority, and specifically the Democratic state attorney general’s (AG) standalone enforcement authority, to pursue tort and other claims for impacts to natural resources from PFAS releases, a blow to chemical manufacturers that had sought to block the suit. In the Aug. 7 decision , North Carolina Chief Business Court Judge Michael Robinson denied a May 2 motion by DuPont and Chemours to dismiss for lack of subject matter...

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...

New Jersey’s PFAS Settlements May Offer ‘Roadmap’ For Other States

New Jersey’s multi-billion dollar proposed settlements with various chemical manufacturers over PFAS contamination are likely to serve as a “roadmap” for dozens of other states pursing natural resource damages (NRD) and drinking water cleanup claims due to PFAS contamination, legal experts say, though some are more cautious. “This landmark settlement sets a powerful precedent for environmental protection efforts nationwide,” says William Jackson, an attorney with Kelley Drye, who served as co-counsel along with two other law firms to New Jersey’s...

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...

Court Grants EPA Request To Again Delay Suit Over PFAS CERCLA Rule

The D.C. Circuit has granted the Trump EPA’s request -- its fifth -- to again delay industry litigation challenging the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, giving the agency 30 more days to determine how to proceed. “Upon consideration of respondents’ unopposed motion to continue abeyance, it is ORDERED that the motion be granted, and these cases continue to remain in abeyance,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...

Sen. Ricketts Proposes CERCLA PFAS Liability Protections In FY26 NDAA

Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) is proposing an amendment to fiscal year 2026 defense authorization legislation that would carve out Superfund liability protections for fire suppression, wastewater and other entities in response to requirements designating two PFAS as “hazardous substances,” marking an early test of legislative support for such measures. Ricketts’ amendment , filed July 31 before senators broke for their summer recess, also proposes a new definition for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that would narrow the current definition contained...

2nd Circuit Says 3M’s Federal Removal Of Vermont PFAS Suit Was Timely

A federal appellate court found that 3M’s bid to remove Vermont’s PFAS contamination suit to federal court was timely filed and reversed a district court order that sent the suit to state court, a procedural win for the manufacturer, which is seeking to keep the suit in federal court, where it plans to offer a government contractor defense. “Contrary to the District Court’s order, we conclude that the notice of removal in this case was filed within thirty days after...

Court Stays South Carolina PFAS Venue Case Pending High Court Action

A federal judge has agreed to stay South Carolina’s pending PFAS contamination suit against 3M to give the state and Maryland time to petition the Supreme Court to review an appellate ruling that backed 3M’s bid to remove their suits to federal court. “For good cause shown, the motion to stay is granted,” Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina said in an Aug. 15 text entry in the case’s docket. “Plaintiff is...

EPA Asks Court For Fifth Delay In Suit Challenging PFAS CERCLA Rule

The Trump EPA is again asking the D.C. Circuit to delay litigation in a case brought by industry challenging the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, the fifth such request the agency has made as officials say they still need more time to evaluate how to proceed in the litigation. “EPA’s new leadership is currently still in the process of reviewing the issues presented in this case, evaluating the Rule within the broader...

Bipartisan House Bill Seeks Funding For PFAS Wastewater Treatment

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers -- two Republicans and six Democrats -- has introduced a bill that would create a $200 million EPA grant program to help wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) upgrade their facilities to treat or limit the discharge of PFAS or other emerging contaminants and comply with any pretreatment or effluent rules. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, together with Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) introduced HR 4961 , titled “Public Utility...

Draft MAHA Plan Sidesteps PFAS Advice, Seeks To Ease Pesticide Policy

A draft strategy from the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission appears to sidestep calls for addressing PFAS while proposing to ease EPA policies governing pesticides and farm operations, a move that is sparking criticism from environmentalists who say it marks a turnabout from the panel’s initial report. The draft strategy , required by President Donald Trump’s executive order creating the panel, follows a May MAHA assessment that identified four potential drivers behind an increase in childhood chronic...

State PFAS Patchwork Continues As Industry Seeks To Ease Tough Laws

Several states are successfully defending against industry attempts to weaken existing PFAS regulations, according to an assessment from environmentalists, but others have conceded to industry pressures by passing laws that ease the burden on regulated entities, continuing the trend of a state patchwork of PFAS laws that industry has long criticized. “There are [] strong concerns about differing states taking varied approaches in developing policy,” a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council (ACC) told Inside PFAS Policy in an...

MAHA Backers Warn Of Fallout For GOP Over PFAS Biosolids Measure

Supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement are pressing President Donald Trump to oppose a measure included in FY26 House spending legislation that would bar EPA from acting on a Biden-era draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids. In an Aug. 11 letter to the president, as well as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, they warn of potential political repercussions for Republicans in the...

Texas Cities Urge Immunity From PFAS Tort Claims For Biosolids Companies

Public operators of wastewater treatment facilities in Texas are supporting legal arguments to provide immunity to biosolids companies from tort claims for any harm caused by PFAS-containing biosolids applied to farmland, backing the concept that such entities should be afforded “derivative immunity” and be considered “passive receivers” of PFAS contamination. The operators made the arguments in a July 15 amicus brief filed by Texas cities and a water reclamation district in Alessi, et al. v. Synagro Technologies Inc., et...

Environmentalists Press MAHA Panel To Stem Range Of PFAS Exposures

Environmentalists are petitioning the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission to take action to restrict PFAS exposure from biosolid applications, fluorination in plastic containers and pesticides use, contending the administration’s talk about addressing PFAS does not match its actions to date. The purpose of the petition -- sent Aug. 13 to MAHA Commission Chair and Health & Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. -- is to point out the hypocrisy of administration officials on the per- and polyfluoroalkyl...

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