PFAS POLICY

EPA’s Suit Over PFAS-Contaminated Plastic Stalls Pending Appellate Ruling

EPA’s novel enforcement suit accusing a Texas-based plastics company of illegally manufacturing several regulated PFAS is on hold until an appellate court rules on the firm’s direct challenge to orders requiring it to halt production, the trial judge hearing the action has decided, appearing to avert any possibility of conflicting precedents in the cases. In a March 19 order , Judge John F. Murphy, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, formally paused United States, et...

House Members Push Bill To Reauthorize Funding For EPA’s PFAS R&D

Two House lawmakers -- one Democrat, one Republican -- are promoting a bill to reauthorize funding for EPA to conduct a host of research and development (R&D) activities related to PFAS, including development of tools to measure PFAS in air and water, evaluation of cleanup approaches and determination of which chemicals to prioritize for future research. Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Bill Posey (R-FL) March 13 introduced H.R. 7675 , a bill that would extend the authorization of appropriations to...

MDL Judge Outlines Process For Second Category Of Personal Injury Cases

The federal judge overseeing massive multi-district litigation (MDL) involving thousands of claims related to PFAS contamination from firefighting foam has approved a timeline to move the court toward a bellwether trial for personal injury claims that are not included in an ongoing personal injury bellwether process. The March 13 case management order (CMO) provides new details on issues discussed at a March 1 status conference in In Re: Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation , where Judge Richard...

PEER Calls For More Study Of PFAS Dermal Exposure From Artificial Turf

Watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is calling for increased study of the potential risks of dermal exposure to PFAS from artificial turf after a preliminary study by the group found increased amounts of the chemicals on the skin of soccer players after playing on artificial turf but not grass fields. The study, while not statistically significant, may nevertheless boost state efforts to restrict PFAS in turf. “Although this was a preliminary study, it raises red flags and...

Seeing Missed Deadline, NRDC Urges Officials To Finalize PFAS Water Rule

Environmentalists are pressuring the Biden administration to finalize as soon as possible EPA’s rule setting first-time limits for six PFAS in drinking water, noting that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has now exceeded its 90-day deadline for completing its review of the rule. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) noted in a March 15 email alert that it has been 90 days since the OMB started interagency review of the rule, and called for the regulation...

Chamber Launches Initiative To Stress PFAS Benefits, As It Faces New Rules

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched a new campaign to emphasize to policymakers and the public the benefits and critical uses of fluorochemicals in national defense, healthcare and other sectors ahead of increased data on PFAS occurrence in drinking water that are likely to trigger public backlash over the chemicals. The Chamber, the world’s largest business organization, announced in a March 11 press release the launch of a new initiative, dubbed “Essential Chemistry for America,” to emphasize critical uses...

Senate Hearing Will Highlight Lingering Differences In CERCLA PFAS Debate

A March 20 Senate environment committee hearing will probe the impacts of EPA’s plan to designate the two most-studied PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, featuring in a public forum the stark differences among stakeholders over targeted Superfund liability exemptions that have stalled a bipartisan PFAS bill for months. The Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee March 13 announced Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) will hold the hearing to examine the impacts of EPA’s proposal to designate perfluorooctanoic acid...

Colorado Lawmakers Pare Back PFAS Bill Amid Industry Concerns

A Colorado Senate panel has pared back pending legislation aimed at expanding the scope of the state’s ban on intentionally added PFAS in certain products, opting to add only certain product categories to the current ban rather than a sweeping restriction similar to Maine and Minnesota after multiple industry sectors raised concerns. More amendments to the legislation are expected, according to state Sen. Lisa Cutter (D), the bill’s sponsor, who said she has been negotiating in good faith with “lots...

SCWO Proponents Urge EPA To Validate Technology In PFAS Guidance

Proponents of an alternative technology for destroying PFAS are urging EPA to validate it in a pending update to interim PFAS disposal guidance, making the push as the guidance remains delayed in interagency review that has prevented the agency from issuing the update by a congressionally mandated deadline. The pressure to endorse the innovative technology known as Super Critical Water Oxidation (SCWO) also comes as EPA has signaled lingering data gaps may prevent the agency from definitively recommending disposal and...

Environmentalists Argue DOD FY25 Budget Request Falls Short Of PFAS Needs

Environmentalists are contending that while the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2025 budget request of $1.6 billion for the Defense Department’s (DOD) cleanup programs is larger than previous requests, the figure still falls short of what the military needs to handle its significant PFAS cleanup liabilities. The FY25 budget request, released by the Biden administration March 11, includes $1.6 billion to fund DOD environmental restoration of contaminated sites across the military services, formerly used defense sites (FUDS), and bases closed under...

IRIS Assessments For Two PFAS Could Drive EPA To Tighten SDWA Rule

EPA’s draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessments of two PFAS that the agency is planning to regulate in its first-time drinking water rule are orders of magnitude more stringent than the values EPA used in crafting the measure, raising the possibility that officials could strengthen the rule once the IRIS values are finalized. In a March 12 statement to Inside PFAS Policy , an agency spokeswoman says officials will consider the pending IRIS assessments for perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and...

Former Staff Back EPA’s Proposed RCRA ‘Hazardous Waste’ Definition Rule

Former EPA career staff and political appointees are backing EPA’s proposed “hazardous waste” definition rule that clarifies that PFAS and other substances that meet the statutory definition of hazardous waste are subject to the corrective action cleanup program, though they ask EPA for additional clarifications to ensure a broad interpretation. The Environmental Protection Network (EPN) “commends EPA on its decision to affirm that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s (RCRA) corrective action program is available to clean up not only...

EPA Highlights PFAS As Major Priority In Justifying FY25 Budget Request

EPA is pointing to the need to address PFAS across a wide range of agency actions as it seeks to defend its fiscal year 2025 budget request to Congress, highlighting ongoing and planned activities in multiple programs and office as it seeks a funding boost to implement them. Overall, the budget request seeks $11 billion in “discretionary budget authority” for EPA that represents an 8.4 percent increase from the FY23 level and an addition of 2,000 employees. The agency in...

Industry Groups Seek Comment Extension For RCRA PFAS Listing Rule

A coalition of industry groups is urging EPA to extend by 30 days the comment period for its proposed landmark rule to list nine PFAS as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) “hazardous constituents,” charging the scientific evaluation and regulatory development for each chemical varies and demands significant scrutiny and additional comment time. “We have consistently supported appropriate use of the Agency’s authority under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (‘RCRA’) as a viable approach to accelerate cleanups of PFAS,”...

Wisconsin Court Voids State’s ‘Hazardous Substance’ Listing For PFAS

A Wisconsin state appeals court in a split decision has struck down state regulators’ ability to require investigation and cleanup of PFAS and other emerging contaminants as “hazardous substances” under state law unless they issue a formal rule, but the dissenting judge charges the ruling upends legal interpretations of the law that have stood for more than 45 years. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled March 6 against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce,...

Citizens Petition EPA Over Air Permit Approval For New Hampshire Landfill

Citizens in New Hampshire are petitioning EPA to require the state to incorporate all public comments into a Clean Air Act Title V permit for a landfill and to evaluate cumulative impacts related to numerous pollutants, including PFAS, they say are necessary to address environmental justice concerns. At issue are sets of public comments the state set aside as “non-germane” and did not include in the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ (DES) “Findings of Facts and Director’s Decision” it...

Draft IRIS Assessment Finds Developmental Effects From PFNA Exposure

EPA’s just-released draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) finds that oral exposure to the PFAS causes developmental harms in humans and is likely to cause liver damage and affect the male reproductive system as well, given sufficient exposure conditions. The March 7 draft assessment is the fifth of five such reviews for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that IRIS is developing in response to an overlapping series of requests from various EPA national programs and...

House Democrats Press White House To Finalize PFAS Drinking Water Rule

A group of House Democrats is urging the White House “to expeditiously finalize” EPA’s proposed drinking water standard for six PFAS, citing the need to protect public health and ensure there is environmental justice for the thousands of communities harmed by the chemicals. The push from the leadership of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Committee (SEEC) to quickly finalize the rule setting Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) standards for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contrasts with the stance...

DOD Faces Challenges To Transitioning To PFAS-Free Firefighting Foams

The Defense Department (DOD) is facing challenges to fully transition from PFAS-based firefighting foam to a PFAS-free alternative, despite certifying such a replacement last year, and is telling lawmakers it anticipates invoking statutory waivers to extend by two years an Oct. 1 congressional ban on PFAS-containing foams. DOD components -- which include the military services -- “have identified contracts and are prepared to begin transitioning to [fluorine-free foams (F3s)] or other fluorine-free alternative firefighting solutions, although the Department’s transition timeline...

Advisory Panel Urges GSA To Develop Plan For Curbing PFAS Purchases

A federal advisory panel is outlining strategies for the General Services Administration (GSA) to limit PFAS in federal purchases and move towards a goal of reducing the chemicals in the supply chain, bolstering environmentalists’ calls to curb such procurement after agencies declined to restrict them in a pending rulemaking. “As the largest purchaser in the world, spending close to $700 billion annually on goods and services, the U.S. government has a tremendous opportunity through federal procurement to reduce demand for...

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