PFAS POLICY

EPA Advisers Criticize Agency Plans To Revise Biden-Era PFAS SDWA Rule

Several members of an EPA drinking water advisory committee are voicing concerns and opposition to agency plans to revise and delay aspects of the landmark Biden-era PFAS drinking water rules, with the panelists warning the plans would undermine public trust, undercut state efforts to regulate and face legal hurdles. “I think what we’d see with this action is reduced public trust if the MCLs are rescinded,” Steve Elmore, director of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Drinking Water and Groundwater...

Carolina Lawmakers Override Veto On Bill Expected To Hinder PFAS Rules

North Carolina lawmakers have voted to override Gov. Josh Stein’s (D) veto on a bill that would require PFAS and other rules to receive unanimous approval from the state’s environmental regulatory oversight panel before they can take effect, despite some Democrats warning the bill would significantly hinder efforts to tackle PFAS contamination. The bill “effectively makes it impossible to adopt certain rules governing, most likely, health and safety -- that’s where we’re probably going to see this -- including those...

Industry Criticizes Washington State’s PFAS Ban For Total Fluorine Tests

Industry groups are criticizing Washington state regulators for using total fluorine (TF) tests as proof of intentionally added PFAS that would trigger compliance with the state’s product prohibitions and reporting requirements, arguing the presence of fluorine does not necessarily indicate the presence of PFAS and such tests may lead to false positives. “Throughout the proposed rule language, the text states that, ‘[the Department of Ecology] presumes the detection of total fluorine indicates the intentional addition of PFAS,’” said the American...

House Lawmakers Urge Zeldin To Reverse Plans On PFAS SDWA Rule

Dozens of House lawmakers -- all Democrats except for two Republicans -- are urging EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to uphold the Biden-era rule limiting six PFAS in drinking water, attempting to persuade him to reverse plans to rescind aspects of the rule and delay compliance. “We write to express our concern with EPA’s announcement to reconsider key elements of the April 2024 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rule establishing national, legally enforceable drinking water standards for several per- and polyfluoroalkyl...

Georgia PFAS Case Tests Prioritization Of Competing CERCLA, CWA Claims

A public utility in Georgia is fighting with environmentalists over whether the Superfund law or the Clean Water Act (CWA) should govern the cleanup of land and waterways contaminated with PFAS-laden wastewater, as they contest the issue in separate claims pending in federal court. The dispute could be an early test of whether Superfund cost recovery claims for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) cleanups -- now allowed under EPA’s 2024 Superfund rule designating two heavily studied PFAS as “hazardous substances”...

Minnesota Gives Manufacturers 6 More Months To Report PFAS Uses

Minnesota regulators will give PFAS manufacturers six more months, until July 1, 2026, to report their PFAS uses to the state, conceding to industry groups that significantly criticized Minnesota’s reporting rule for not giving them enough time to prepare. Officials also announced a seven-year extension -- until 2032 -- on Minnesota’s ban on intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in internal components and electronic components of products, though they appear unlikely to grant industry requests to modify other...

House Committee Seeks EPA Report On PFAS Enforcement Discretion Policy

House appropriators are pressing EPA to report on its implementation of the Biden-era enforcement discretion policy aimed at quelling liability concerns of “passive receivers” of PFAS contamination triggered by the agency’s 2024 Superfund PFAS rule, a measure that could inform policymakers weighing steps to address the rule or provide additional liability relief. The House Appropriations Committee included the measure, along with other provisions on per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), in its report attached to the fiscal year 2026 spending bill...

Utilities Urge EPA Advisors To Back Revised PFAS Drinking Water Rule

Water utilities are urging EPA advisors to support revisions Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in May to partially pare back the agency’s drinking water rule setting limits for certain PFAS, though the utilities plan to maintain their legal challenge contesting the portion of the Biden-era rule the Trump administration says it will retain. The American Water Works Association (AWWA), which represents a variety of drinking water utilities, submitted July 21 comments to the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) ahead of...

DOD To Prioritize Most Critical Sectors In Research For PFAS Alternatives

The Department of Defense (DOD) in a new report says it will adopt a phased approach toward researching accessible and effective alternatives to PFAS, starting with critical sectors like weapons systems and semiconductors, while raising concerns that PFAS manufacturers are beginning to exit the market prior to DOD identifying alternatives. “An increasing number of mission critical PFAS and PFAS-enabled products are at risk for obsolescence due to market phase outs; manufacturer liability; complex geopolitical escalation dynamics; and regulatory complexity, uncertainty,...

ATSDR’s PFAS Blood-Level Findings May Bolster Health Effects Research

Researchers are suggesting a nationwide federal study finding levels of four types of PFAS in the blood of nearly every participant among thousands tested in contaminated communities could serve as a jumping-off point to further examine health effects linked to such exposures. “These serum concentrations reflect a wide range of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures in communities affected by contamination from firefighting activities and industrial emissions, and other sources,” the researchers say in a June 12 journal article running...

Senate Panel Seeks To Repeal DOD PFAS Incineration Ban, Lift Purchase Bar

A key Senate panel has approved measures in annual defense policy legislation that would definitively repeal a temporary moratorium on Defense Department (DOD) incineration of PFAS, require DOD to update its PFAS destruction guidance and lift a ban on DOD procurement of certain products containing the two most studied PFAS, among other provisions. In addition, the fiscal year 2026 defense authorization bill would push DOD to conduct expedited interim response actions of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at military...

D.C. Circuit Grants EPA Request To Lift Stay In PFAS SDWA Rule Suit

The D.C. Circuit has granted EPA’s request to reactivate litigation brought by industry and water utilities challenging the Biden-era rule limiting PFAS in drinking water, ordering the parties to provide to the court by Aug. 1 proposals for a schedule and format to complete briefing in the case. In a July 22 order , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit grants EPA’s July 21 motion to govern future proceedings in the consolidated American Water Works...

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...

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