States-PFAS

States


Michigan Asks State High Court To Reverse Repeal Of PFAS Water Rule

Michigan is asking the state’s highest court to again intervene in its battle with 3M over whether its PFAS drinking water limits were properly promulgated, with regulators seeking to appeal a split appellate decision that reinstated a ruling invalidating the standards. The Sept. 19 decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals in 3M Company v. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) “merits review” by the state’s Supreme Court, EGLE says in an Oct. 30 application for leave...

PEER Touts Recycling Trade Group’s Rejection Of PFAS-Laden Containers

Environmentalists are touting a recent move by a plastics recycling industry trade group deeming PFAS-containing plastic packaging as unrecyclable under a California labeling law, arguing it is an indirect action that incentivizes the phase-out of PFAS-containing products and packaging amid a slow EPA response on fluorinated containers. In a Nov. 5 press release , Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) noted an October decision by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) to halt the review of new and existing applications...

Industry Urges New Mexico To Extend Existing Waivers To PFAS Label Rule

Industry groups are raising concerns about New Mexico’s first-time proposed labeling requirements for PFAS-containing consumer products, arguing that the product categories that are already exempt from prohibitions and reporting requirements under the law should similarly be exempt from labeling requirements. “In our view, the draft regulations are inconsistent with the intent of the statute, given the multitude of specific product categories that are entirely exempt from the most substantive provisions of [the] law, including the Currently Unavoidable Use provision and...

Maine Official Urges States To Weigh Biosolids Disposal Options Before Ban

Maine’s environment commissioner is urging other states that may be considering a ban on biosolids land application due to PFAS concerns, as Maine did, to first determine the availability of alternate disposal options, though she declined to comment on whether states should wait until EPA finalizes its biosolids risk assessment before promulgating rules. “I would suggest that any state that is considering a prohibition [on the land-application of biosolids] should plan for where those materials are going to go first,”...

Newsom Veto Triggers Debate Over How To Regulate Products With PFAS

Industry and environmental groups are at odds over how to regulate PFAS in products after California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a bill banning the chemicals from cookware and several other product categories, with industry arguing the state’s green chemistry program should lead the way while environmentalists strongly disagree. “Let’s be clear: the Department of Toxic Substances Control [DTSC] first needs to execute the risk-categorization process that has been in statute since 2008 instead of creating further uncertainty with one-off...

New Mexico Proposes First-Time Product Labeling Requirements For PFAS

New Mexico could become the first state to adopt widespread labeling requirements for PFAS-containing consumer products, as the state’s environment board considers proposed rules requiring manufacturers to affix labels to their products that say they contain intentionally added PFAS, alongside rules for prohibitions, reporting and exemptions. Ahead of an Oct. 22 public meeting on the proposed rules, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) on Oct. 8 petitioned the state’s Environmental Impact Board (EIB) to adopt the proposed rules to implement...

Washington State Backs Incineration To Dispose Of AFFF Containing PFAS

Washington state officials have decided to dispose of the state’s firefighting foam containing PFAS using incineration, choosing the controversial disposal method due to its technological efficiency, safety and streamlined regulatory process to help fire departments safely get rid of their aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). “We anticipate approximately 32,000 gallons of AFFF will be collected from nearly 80 fire departments,” a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Ecology told Inside PFAS Policy in an email. “We selected incineration for our...

In Win For Industry, Newsom Vetoes Bill Banning PFAS In Cookware

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) veto of a bill that would have banned PFAS from cookware and several other product categories marks a win for industry groups that sought the veto after failing to prevent several other states from adopting similar prohibitions. Newsom on Oct. 13 vetoed SB 682, which sought to ban PFAS from five consumer product categories starting in 2028 and from cookware products beginning in 2030, citing concerns that the measure would trigger a shortage of affordable...

Wisconsin’s PFAS Cleanup Highlights Alignment Of EPA, State Actions

Recent PFAS cleanup notices by Wisconsin regulators, bolstered by a recent state high court ruling and the Trump EPA’s decision to preserve Superfund and drinking water rules for two legacy PFAS, are highlighting the growing alignment of state and federal regulatory frameworks for addressing the chemicals, two attorneys say. Wisconsin’s regulatory action, together with EPA’s recent decisions, “demonstrates how state and federal PFAS regulatory frameworks are converging,” Ned Witte and Heather Davis, attorneys with Earth and Water Law, write in...

California Eyes Drinking Water Limit For PFHxS As EPA Seeks To Drop Standard

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is launching a drinking water public health goal (PHG) review for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), taking a step toward crafting an enforceable standard for the substance as the Trump EPA seeks to rescind its Biden-era drinking water limit for the widely used PFAS. OEHHA announced plans for the first-time PHG in an Oct. 3 notice , which also announced plans to revise the state’s current PHG for arsenic. “PHGs are non-regulatory in...

Minnesota May Lower Fees For Manufacturers Under PFAS Reporting Rule

Minnesota environmental regulators may reduce fees that manufacturers will have to pay under the state’s proposed PFAS reporting rule after an administrative law judge (ALJ) disapproved the provision because the total fees that the state expects to receive far exceed the costs of implementing the law, conflicting with statutory requirements. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) estimates spending $6.027 million over nine years to implement Amara’s Law -- Minnesota’s comprehensive per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mitigation law -- but expects...

Maine Board Approves Rule Exempting Two Products From PFAS Ban

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection has approved a rule exempting two cleaning-related products from the state’s upcoming ban on certain products containing PFAS, while discussing whether to ask the state’s environment department to look more closely at cookware, which is currently subject to the ban. At its Oct. 2 meeting, the board voted 6-0 to approve the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) proposed rule to exempt two products -- a cleaning product container internal cartridge valve and a...

Newsom Vetoes PFAS Mitigation Fund Bill, Citing Lack Of Funding, Need

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vetoed a bill to create a PFAS mitigation fund allowing state water regulators to cover or reduce costs associated with treating for PFAS in drinking water, recycled water, stormwater, and wastewater, saying it would duplicate current CalEPA efforts, lacks funding, and would divert money from other areas. “While well-intentioned, this bill is unnecessary,” Newsom writes in an Oct. 1 veto message for SB 454 by Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton), which lawmakers approved unanimously last...

Ahead Of Hearing, 3M Again Removes Maine PFAS Suit To Federal Court

3M is seeking to bolster its effort to secure a federal court venue for Maine’s case seeking cleanup claims against the company for PFAS contamination, removing the case a second time after finding the suit includes additional sites with contamination from the company’s military-grade firefighting foam, which it argues makes it eligible for a federal venue. The manufacturer’s second notice of removal , filed Sept. 8, comes as oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit...

3M’s Second Notice Of Removal

3M’s Supplemental Removal Notice

3M Letter Regarding Second Removal

Maine Letter Responding To Second Removal


Maine Board Slated To Weigh Rule Exempting Two Products From PFAS Ban

Maine’s environment board is slated this week to review a rule exempting two products from the state’s upcoming PFAS prohibitions, after environmental regulators made no changes to the measure despite industry criticism that they did not appropriately review the other nine exemption petitions that were denied. Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) is scheduled to meet Oct. 2 to consider adopting the rule, although it is unclear whether the board will make a decision that same day. According to BEP’s...

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