Feds promise millions more for study, cleanup and control of 'forever' chemicals,' joining states in ramped-up scrutiny; EPA tasked to develop whole agency strategy by mid August, but Wisconsin manufacturers sue state over planned regulation
Environmental cleanups are expected to grow exponentially for group of thousands of chemicals with wide business and consumer use, as municipal legal actions rise and Biden administration aims to tighten rules.
The Feb. 20 proposal calls for establishing maximum contaminant levels for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). EPA also proposed regulating imported products that contain certain long-chain PFAS chemicals that are used as surface coatings.
A defense bill released by a congressional conference committee Dec. 9 dropped provisions that would have restricted discharges of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—a class of chemical compounds known as PFAS—from manufacturers into water supplies and designated PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the federal Superfund law.
As the number of communities in the U.S. discovering high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water supplies continues to grow, industry and local officials are waiting on legislative and regulatory leadership to set limits and standards for this pollutant class.
At a Sept. 10 hearing, Democrats and some Republicans on the House Oversight Committee asked witnesses what lawmakers could do to begin to address the problem of PFAS.
