States-PFAS

States

Environmentalists Criticize North Carolina Panel On PFAS Reduction Plan

Environmentalists are criticizing a North Carolina regulatory oversight panel for advancing a PFAS source reduction plan that they argue does not require industry to meaningfully reduce discharges to surface water, especially after that panel previously rejected a proposal from state regulators to set enforceable surface water quality standards. “After decades of poisoning North Carolinians, and years of inaction by state regulators, polluters would officially get a pass to pollute under this proposed rule,” said Cori Bell, senior attorney at the...

Environmentalists Plan To Ask New Mexico To Expand PFAS Fracking Ban

Environmentalists are planning to ask New Mexico’s oil commission to expand its recent decision to ban PFAS in oil and gas fracking to also include all “downhole” operations, questioning a ruling that also broadened the state’s definition of PFAS but stopped short of banning the use of undisclosed chemicals in such operations. Tim Davis, an attorney for WildEarth Guardians (WEG), which petitioned New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Commission (OCC) to ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in oil and gas operations,...

States Tout Need For PFAS Data Amid EPA Plans To Eliminate ORD

RALEIGH -- State regulators are pointing to the lack of data around PFAS contamination, particularly on the toxicity of emerging compounds, as the biggest roadblock in the way of PFAS regulation -- a concern that is expected to grow if EPA eliminates its Office of Research and Development (ORD), which researches PFAS and other emerging contaminants. “I feel that the extent of this problem is the biggest hurdle,” said Ray Holberger, environmental health specialist at the South Carolina Department of...

Industry Again Urges Maine To Ease Process To Seek PFAS Use Waivers

Industry groups are again urging Maine regulators to rework their proposed process for determining what uses of PFAS are currently unavoidable and therefore exempt from the state’s revised PFAS prohibition law, reemphasizing that their current criteria are too narrow and contains short timelines. The new industry comments come in response to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) proposed rule to implement the state’s amended per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) law. But the proposal is largely similar to the draft...

States Grapple With Addressing PFAS In Biosolids, Touting Source Reduction

RALEIGH -- States are grappling with how to address PFAS contamination from the land-application of biosolids, with regulators emphasizing the importance of regional collaboration and reducing PFAS at the source before it reaches wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), but alternative disposal methods, like landfilling, are fraught with concerns too. During a March 12 panel discussion at the Air & Waste Management Association’s (A&WMA) “The Science of PFAS: Piecing Together the Puzzle” conference here, state officials and others outlined a series of...

New Mexico Advances PFAS ‘Hazardous Waste’ Bill After MDL Ruling

New Mexico lawmakers are advancing first-time state legislation that would list discarded firefighting foam containing PFAS as “hazardous waste,” a move that could serve as a model for stalled federal policy and fortify the state’s legal stance as it fights the Air Force in an effort to regulate the substances at a contaminated base, a top state environment official says. Enacting the bill “will open the door for us to continue to seek the relief that we need, either through...

House Bill 140

Legislative Analysis


Michigan High Court Remands 3M’s PFAS Rule Suit To Determine Mootness

Michigan’s highest court has vacated a ruling that had invalidated the state’s drinking water standards for seven PFAS, remanding the issue to the lower court to determine whether the legal challenge is moot due to issuance of a new, related rule and whether the plaintiff failed to exhaust its administrative remedies. The Michigan Supreme Court issued a March 7 order in 3M Company v. Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) that vacates a 2023 decision by a...

North Carolina DEQ Drafts New Source Reduction Plan For Three PFAS

North Carolina regulators have drafted a rule that would subject Significant Industrial Users (SIUs) in the state to monitoring and minimization requirements for three PFAS compounds, a plan originally floated as an eased alternative to surface water quality standards, but it is unclear whether the state’s regulatory oversight panel will advance it. Members of North Carolina’s Water Quality Committee (WQC), part of the state’s Environmental Management Commission (EMC) that must approve environmental rules, are scheduled to take action on the...

Maine Panel Backs Novel Bill On PFAS In Food Amid Doubts On Imports

A state legislative panel has voted to advance a bill that could make Maine the first state to set PFAS limits in food, although lawmakers expressed concerns that the state, which imports a significant amount of its food, would not be able to regulate out-of-state produce, resulting in PFAS limits disproportionately impacting local farmers. Members of the Joint Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee voted March 4 to advance Legislative Document 130 , which would allow Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation...

California Senator Pushes New Bill To Ban All But ‘Essential Uses’ Of PFAS

A California state senator is renewing efforts to ban intentionally added PFAS in all products that are not deemed to have “essential uses” and for which no other alternatives exist, touting extensive negotiations with stakeholders and state regulators that resulted in the addition of more compliance flexibilities than a similar bill that died last year. If enacted, the legislation would make California the third state -- after Minnesota and Maine -- to ban all products containing PFAS, though the measure...

3M Joins DuPont In Urging Dismissal Of Texas Suit On PFAS Marketing

3M is joining DuPont in urging a federal district court to dismiss a suit brought by Texas against the two PFAS manufacturers for allegedly misrepresenting the safety of their PFAS-containing consumer products, specifically asking that the court dismiss the suit before it decides on Texas’ outstanding motion to remand the case to state court. “The Court has considerable discretion in picking which jurisdictional motion to decide first,” 3M says in a Feb. 27 memorandum in support of its motion to...

New Mexico House Panel Backs Bill On PFAS In Fracking Amid Rulemaking

A New Mexico House panel has voted, mostly on party lines, to advance a bill that would ban PFAS and undisclosed chemicals in downhole oil and gas operations, despite objections from state officials and industry groups who argued the bill should wait until after a state commission completes work on a pending rulemaking. The House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee Feb. 27 voted 6-5 to approve an amended version of House Bill 222 . Six Democrats voted in support...

Environmentalists Urge Connecticut Officials To Retain PFAS Cookware Ban

Environmentalists are urging Connecticut lawmakers to resist exempting PFAS-containing cookware from the state’s upcoming ban on consumer products containing the chemicals, warning that such a first-time carve-out from an existing ban would set a precedent for other products and other states, as industry ramps up efforts to win such exemptions. “Manufacturers of nonstick cookware products using these PFAS chemicals are understandably quite interested in continuing to sell the products that they’re making a profit off of,” said Chris Phelps, state...

Judge Denies Industry Group’s Bid To Pause Minnesota PFAS Cookware Ban

A federal judge has rejected an industry group’s attempt to temporarily halt Minnesota’s landmark prohibition on the sale of PFAS-containing cookware, arguing the group is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its suit -- which includes claims under the dormant Commerce Clause -- and is hinting at a difficult path forward for the industry group. “[B]ecause the law does not discriminate against out-of-state interests and its burden on interstate commerce is not clearly excessive in relation to the local...

DuPont Urges Court To Dismiss Texas Suit Targeting PFAS Products

DuPont is urging a federal district court to dismiss a suit brought by Texas against 3M and DuPont for allegedly misrepresenting the safety of their PFAS-containing consumer products, arguing the state’s complaint does not identify any Texas-specific conduct, nor does it adequately specify allegations of deceptive trade practices. Texas’ suit -- originally filed in state court before 3M removed it to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas -- is attempting to prohibit 3M and DuPont from...

California Bill Would Lock-In Biden-EPA Drinking Water PFAS Standards

A California lawmaker is introducing a bill to require the state water board to advance emergency rules to lock-in the Biden-EPA’s stringent regulatory limits for six PFAS in drinking water, mainly in response to President Donald Trump’s expected repeal of the standards, which are facing lawsuits from chemical industry and water utility groups. “Given the developments in Washington, given the threat to public health and to public safety that these chemicals pose, the science here is absolutely clear -- we...

Air Force Seeks Talks With New Mexico Over PFAS Spill Enforcement Order

The Air Force is entering settlement talks with New Mexico over a disputed state enforcement action related to an accidental release of firefighting foam wastewater containing PFAS, following a request for an administrative hearing on the enforcement action where the military argues it is immune to hazardous waste permit requirements for PFAS. Col. Robert L. Johnston, installation commander at Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), says in a Feb. 14 letter to the New Mexico Department of Environment (NMED) that he...

Maine To Consider Bill Setting Framework For First-Time PFAS Food Limits

Maine lawmakers will consider a bill that could make Maine the first state to set PFAS limits in food, a subject particularly critical at a time when there are growing concerns around PFAS contamination in agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears far from establishing such limits at the federal level. The Jan. 8 bill , “An Act to Establish the PFAS Response Program and to Modify the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination,” would allow Maine’s Department of...

Connecticut Weighs Fluoropolymer Exemption In PFAS Cookware Ban

Connecticut lawmakers are weighing whether the state’s upcoming ban on PFAS-containing cookware should exempt those containing fluoropolymers, which are often used in nonstick coatings, reigniting a debate on the varying toxicities of PFAS compounds as more states are expected to consider prohibitions on PFAS in products. The issue will be at the forefront of a Feb. 19 public hearing on a draft exemption , sponsored by state Sen. Rick Lopes (D-CT) who also chairs the General Assembly’s Joint Environment Committee,...

Pages

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