EPA Upholds PFAS Regulations

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it will hold companies responsible for cleaning up “forever chemicals,” upholding a major rule despite opposition. The agency must still defend the rule in court from industry lawsuits.

“When it comes to PFOA and PFOS contamination, holding polluters accountable while providing certainty for passive receivers that did not manufacture or generate those chemicals continues to be an ongoing challenge. I have heard loud and clear from the American people, from Congress, and from local municipalities about this particular issue,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.

PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been used for decades in consumer products like nonstick cookware, food packaging and cosmetics.

The Biden administration last year designated perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). 

ICSC opposed the rule, believing that CERCLA was not the right regulatory tool to address this important issue and that further clarifications are needed.

Zeldin has called on Congress to pass laws to shield local municipalities and others who did not manufacture or generate the chemicals but may have inadvertently handled them.

Going forward, EPA intends to develop a CERCLA section 102(a) Framework Rule. The goal of the Framework Rule will be to provide a uniform approach to guide future hazardous substance designations, including how the agency will consider the costs of proposed designations. Section 102(a) gives EPA authority to designate additional hazardous substances beyond those substances listed under the other statutes referenced in CERCLA (the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act). 

For more information, please contact Abby Jagoda at ajagoda@icsc.com.