PFAS POLICY

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...

Federal Court Poised To Hear Challenge To Minnesota’s PFAS In Cookware Ban

A federal district court is poised to consider later this week cookware manufacturers’ challenge to Minnesota’s ban on PFAS-containing cookware, holding a hearing that will test whether the state’s comprehensive PFAS product prohibitions law -- the strictest in the country -- will survive legal action. Senior Judge John R. Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota will hold a general hearing July 11 on Cookware Sustainability Alliance (CSA) v. Kessler , which Minnesota Pollution Control Agency...

D.C. Circuit Grants EPA Request To Again Extend Stay Of CERCLA PFAS Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted EPA’s unopposed motion to further stay litigation challenging the Biden-era rule designating two PFAS as Superfund “hazardous substances,” giving it still more time to decide on whether it will pursue changes to the rule. The D.C. Circuit July 3 granted EPA’s July 2 request to continue abeyance of the case , Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. EPA , for another...

EPA’s Proposed FY26 Budget Cuts May Stymie Range Of PFAS Goals

The Trump EPA in its fiscal year 2026 budget justification appears to be supporting a swath of initiatives to tackle PFAS contamination, including Superfund cleanups, drinking water issues and toxicity research, but the agency’s planned cuts across several programs related to PFAS are likely to undercut that commitment. EPA’s recently released FY26 budget justification repeatedly signals EPA’s intent to prioritize addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination through Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cleanups, research into toxicity...

OMB Clears Plan To End Federal Purchase Of Paper Straws Containing PFAS

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the Trump administration’s proposed rule to end the federal procurement of PFAS-containing paper straws, a measure that makes good on an Earth Day pledge by President Donald Trump to reverse the Biden-era procurement policy, clearing the way for its release. The rule, a proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), cleared OMB July 2, according to OMB’s website. The FAR is a set of regulations overseeing the federal procurement process...

EPA Seeks Fourth Extension In Case Challenging CERCLA PFAS Rule

The Trump EPA is asking the D.C. Circuit to once again delay industry litigation challenging the landmark Biden-era rule listing two PFAS as Superfund “hazardous substances,” the fourth time the agency has sought such a delay to give officials more time to decide on how or whether they will seek to revise the rule amid competing interests. EPA July 2 filed an unopposed motion asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to continue abeyance for...

Environmentalists Eye WWTPs To Curb Widespread PFAS Contamination

Environmentalists are urging the Trump EPA, Congress and state environmental agencies to take a series of regulatory, research and other steps to limit PFAS contamination from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), pointing to a new report which found 98 percent of tested waterways across 19 states are contaminated with the toxic chemicals. “The findings confirm that PFAS contamination is both widespread and persistent, reinforcing the urgent need for stronger regulations, expanded research, increased funding, and improved treatment technologies,” the Waterkeeper Alliance...

Lawyers Warn Of Burdens On Businesses From Broad PFAS Definitions

Industry lawyers are raising concerns about the significant compliance and economic impacts that broad and varied PFAS definitions will have on businesses, criticizing federal and state regulators that employ such definitions, despite little scientific justification, while saying they should rather focus on specific chemicals that have been well-studied. “The fluorine-carbon bond is one of the strongest single bonds in chemistry, and it’s the bond that basically says to water, oil, grease and heat, ‘You can’t touch me,’” said Derek Smith,...

Pentagon Readies Another Deadline Extension For Ending PFAS-Foam Use

Pentagon officials are briefing lawmakers on their plans to exercise a second one-year waiver for the military’s upcoming deadline to end use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, citing various difficulties including the large number of assets that need to transition, a shift in Defense Department (DOD) priorities and disposal limitations. “Although the Department has made significant progress, it needs additional time to ensure a methodical and safe transition of over 1,000 facilities and over 6,000 mobile assets,” the Office of the...

Pages

Not a subscriber? Request 30 days free access to exclusive environmental policy reporting.