Category: PFAS

April 28, 2025

EPA Extends Comment Period on Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS

On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment period on a draft risk assessment of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge. 90 Fed. Reg. 16128. According to EPA, the draft risk assessment “reflects the agency’s latest scientific understanding of the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by the...
April 22, 2025

Comments on Minnesota’s Proposed Rule for Reporting Products Containing Intentionally Added PFAS Are Due May 21, 2025

With the January 1, 2026, reporting deadline fast approaching for reporting on products containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), on April 21, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) published a proposed rule intended to clarify the reporting requirements, specify how and what to report, and establish fees. Written comments on the proposed rule are due May 21, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. (CDT). On May 22, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. (CDT), MPCA will hold a public...
April 15, 2025

Recent Federal Developments for April 15, 2025

Register Now For “PFAS Updates: What’s Happening in the U.S. and EU,” May 13, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT), Via Webinar: Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) and EPPA for “PFAS Updates: What’s Happening in the U.S. and EU,” a complimentary webinar offering expert updates on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulatory developments. During this webinar, Meglena Mihova, Managing Partner, EPPA, and Richard E....
April 11, 2025

New Mexico Will Phase Out Products Containing Intentionally Added PFAS and Require Reporting; Exemptions Include Fluoropolymers

On April 8, 2025, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed the Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Protection Act (HB 212). Like Minnesota and Maine, New Mexico will begin phasing out certain consumer products containing intentionally added PFAS, defining PFAS as “a substance in a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.” In 2032, New Mexico will prohibit products containing intentionally added PFAS unless the use of...
April 11, 2025

Maine Board Approves Motion to Adopt Rule on PFAS in Products; CUU Proposals for Products Prohibited as of January 1, 2026, Are Due June 1, 2025

As reported in our April 1, 2025, blog item, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (MBEP) was scheduled to consider the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (MDEP) December 2024 proposed rule regarding products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during its April 7, 2025, meeting. As reported in our December 31, 2024, memorandum, on December 20, 2024, MDEP published a proposed rule that would establish criteria for currently unavoidable uses (CUU) of...
April 7, 2025

NSF Announces PFAS-Free Certification for Nonfood Compounds and Food Equipment Materials 

On March 24, 2025, NSF announced the release of NSF Certification Guideline 537: PFAS-Free Products for Nonfood Compounds and Food Equipment Materials (NSF 537). The press release states that to be certified, nonfood compound products “must first be registered under NSF’s Nonfood Compounds Guidelines or certified by NSF to ISO 21469, Safety of Machinery, Lubricants with Incidental Product Contact-Hygiene Requirements.” According to the press release, food equipment materials “must be...
April 1, 2025

Maine Board of Environmental Protection Will Consider Proposed PFAS Rule at Its April 7, 2025, Meeting

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection (MBEP) will consider the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (MDEP) December 2024 proposed rule regarding products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during its April 7, 2025, meeting. As reported in our December 31, 2024, memorandum, on December 20, 2024, MDEP published a proposed rule that would establish criteria for currently unavoidable uses (CUU) of intentionally added PFAS in products and implement sales...
March 28, 2025

States Take Action to Regulate and Limit PFAS in Industrial Effluent Despite Federal Inaction

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule seeking to set effluent limitation guidelines for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) was withdrawn from Office of Management & Budget (OMB) review following President Trump’s Executive Order implementing a regulatory freeze. Federal action may be halted, but states are beginning to enact legislation that seeks to address PFAS contained in industrial...
March 24, 2025

Canada Releases Final State of PFAS Report and Proposed Risk Management Approach

On March 5, 2025, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced the availability of its final State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report (State of PFAS Report) and proposed risk management approach for PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers. The State of PFAS Report concludes that the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, is harmful to human health and the environment. To address these risks, on March 8, 2025, Canada published a proposed order that would add the class of...
February 24, 2025

EPA Reopens, Extends Comment Periods for Proposed PFAS Rule and Notices

On February 21, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment deadline for the January 17, 2025, proposed rule to clarify the timeframe for when companies must first notify a customer that one of its mixtures or trade name products contains a per- or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 90 Fed. Reg. 10043. As reported in our January 22, 2025, blog item, the Biden EPA proposed the rule in response to questions from industry...
February 7, 2025

EPA Postpones Addition of Nine PFAS to Toxics Release Inventory for Reporting Year 2025

On February 5, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delayed until March 21, 2025, the effective date of a January 2025 rule adding nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals subject to toxic chemical release reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). 90 Fed. Reg. 9010. As reported in our January 13, 2025, blog item, the January rule updates the regulations to identify nine...
February 4, 2025

MPCA Recommends Exempting until 2032 Intentionally Added PFAS in Electronic or Other Internal Components within the 11 Product Categories Prohibiting PFAS in 2025

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has posted a January 2025 report to the legislature regarding recommendations for products containing lead, cadmium, and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). During the previous legislative session, the legislature directed MPCA to support a report by January 31, 2025, with legislative recommendations related to the following chemicals and products: The use of intentionally added PFAS in electronic or other internal components of...
January 23, 2025

EPA Administrator Nominee Advances to Senate for Confirmation Vote: Nomination Hearing Highlights

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on January 23, 2025, advanced the nomination of Lee Zeldin to the full Senate for a vote to confirm him as the next Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 11-8 vote to advance the nomination was largely along party lines, with Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) as the only Democrat to vote in favor of advancing Zeldin’s nomination. Zeldin is expected to be confirmed by the Senate. EPW held a hearing on the...
January 22, 2025

EPA Proposes to Clarify Supplier Notification Requirements for TRI-Listed PFAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on January 17, 2025, to clarify the timeframe for when companies must first notify a customer that one of its mixtures or trade name products contains a per- or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 90 Fed. Reg. 5795. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) adds certain PFAS automatically to the TRI beginning January 1 of the year following specific triggering events....
January 15, 2025

Recent Federal Developments for January 2025

2025 Forecast For U.S. Federal And International Chemical Regulatory Policy: On January 6, 2025, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), The Acta Group (Acta®), and B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) published the “Forecast for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy 2025.” This carefully curated document represents our seasoned team’s collective take on what to expect regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical initiatives in the New...
January 15, 2025

Pulling the Threads of the ‘Complicated Patchwork of Federal and State Law’ around PFAS Class Action Lawsuits

On January 7, 2025, Lynn L. Bergeson was interviewed by Christopher Bornmann in Pulling the Threads of the ‘Complicated Patchwork of Federal and State Law’ around PFAS Class Action Lawsuits for the 3E blog. Portions of this article covering the current landscape surrounding PFAS class action lawsuits are shared below by permission. To better understand the current landscape surrounding PFAS class action lawsuits and how companies can protect themselves from litigation, 3E sat down with Lynn...
January 15, 2025

Lynn L. Bergeson, “The Cost of Cleanup: Preparing for PFAS remediation battles,” Corporate Disputes, January – March 2025.

In April 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened an enormous can of worms for entities even remotely association with the generation, transport, use or disposal of two legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). In designating the PFAS as "hazardous substances" under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the EPA greenlit the initiation of government-ordered...
January 14, 2025

EPA Releases Draft Risk Assessment of PFOA and PFOS in Biosolids, Will Hold Webinar on January 15, 2025

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 14, 2025, a draft risk assessment of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge. According to EPA, the findings show that there may be human health risks associated with exposure to PFOA or PFOS with all three methods of using or disposing of sewage sludge -- land application of biosolids,...
January 14, 2025

Cookware Association Files Federal Challenge to Minnesota’s Ban on PFAS in Cookware

The Cookware Sustainability Alliance (CSA) announced on January 9, 2025, that it has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, seeking a preliminary injunction of Minnesota’s ban on the sale of cookware containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). CSA v. Kessler (No. 0:25-cv-00041). According to CSA, the chemical coating on nonstick cookware contains fluoropolymers, which “are fundamentally different compounds from the chemicals that...