With 2024 winding down and a change of presidential administration imminent, it is worthwhile to consider the state of EPA’s efforts to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In this connection, EPA recently released its third annual Progress Report on the Agency’s 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap. This most recent report,…
As in 2023, Congress continues to focus on PFAS issues in the first months of 2024. In this 118th Congress, at least 39 bills focused on PFAS have been introduced along with several dozen additional bills that tangentially address “forever chemicals.” As we noted in an earlier post, the focus…
On September 28, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the long-awaited one-time reporting rule for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that the Agency had proposed in June 2021 under Section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The finalization of this rule is one of the regulatory…
On June 20, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 18 chemicals derived from the recycling of plastic wastes. 88 Fed. Reg. 39804 (2023). The chemicals were the subjects of premanufacture notifications (PMNs) submitted in 2015…
On June 15, 2022, the EPA released drinking water health advisory levels for four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): PFOA, PFOS, PFBS and GenX. The announcement reflects the Biden administration’s continued push to regulate PFAS. In requesting information from its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) on PFOA and PFOS last fall,…
(Note: This update involves recent developments on a topic covered in a December 2021 client alert.) As advised in part by the Biden Administration, developments in the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to unfold. Not only did the EPA release its PFAS Strategic Roadmap in October, but it…
Federal efforts to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have continued in recent months. Most notably, on October 21, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) released its PFAS Strategic Roadmap. This document promises to establish a comprehensive, whole-of-agency approach to regulating PFAS, by building off the…
In recent years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or, as they are more commonly known, “PFAS,” have been the subject of high-profile litigation and heightened scrutiny by federal and state governments as concerns rise about the risks they present to human health and the environment. This trend is of significant interest…