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Maine enacted An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution in July 2021. Under the bill, manufacturers of products with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were required to report the presence of the intentionally added PFAS in those products to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) beginning January 1, 2023. As reported in our February 17, 2023, memorandum, on February 14, 2023, MDEP announced a much anticipated...

May 17, 202311:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT REGISTER NOW The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has advanced groundbreaking science policy initiatives in furtherance of implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). As EPA advances New Approach Methodologies (NAM), cumulative risk assessment methodologies, and systematic review procedures, chemical stakeholders must understand directionally how these initiatives are...

On April 6, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a suit brought by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) to prevent Inhance Technologies USA (Inhance) from generating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) when fluorinating plastic containers. As reported in our January 6, 2023, blog item, CEH and PEER sought a court order restraining Inhance from continued manufacture of PFAS in violation of a...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted the justification for its fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriation estimates for the Committee on Appropriations (Congressional Justification (CJ)). According to the CJ, work in the Pollution Prevention (P2) Program supports Objective 7.2: Promote Pollution Prevention (P2) under Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment. The FY 2024 budget includes $29 million and 69.2 full-time equivalents...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted the justification for its fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriation estimates for the Committee on Appropriations (Congressional Justification (CJ)). According to the CJ, work in the Pollution Prevention (P2) Program supports Objective 7.2: Promote Pollution Prevention (P2) under Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment. The FY 2024 budget includes $29 million and 69.2...

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on March 22, 2023, on the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The only listed witness is EPA Administrator Michael Regan. As reported in our March 14, 2023, blog item, the budget requests over $12 billion in discretionary budget authority for EPA, a $1.9 billion or 19 percent increase from the FY 2023 enacted level. Highlights of the FY 2024...

The National Science and Technology Council announced on March 14, 2023, that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a state of science report on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The report was prepared by the interagency PFAS Strategy Team created by OSTP at the direction of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. It provides an analysis of the state of the science of PFAS and information that will...

On March 9, 2023, President Biden released his fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) March 9, 2023, press release, the budget requests over $12 billion in discretionary budget authority for EPA in FY 2024, a $1.9 billion or 19 percent increase from the FY 2023 enacted level. Highlights of the FY 2024 budget include: EPA states that it will release the full Congressional Justification and Budget in Brief materials...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 2, 2023, that the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) will hold two public listening sessions to receive individual input related to concerns about potential liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). According to EPA, it will review and consider the input received in drafting a “CERCLA per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)...

On January 27, 2023, plaintiffs in the Southern District of New York announced their displeasure with the inconvenient fact that Tom’s Wicked Fresh! mouthwash contains measurable concentrations of PFAS. They channeled their displeasure by bringing a class action suit against Colgate-Palmolive Company and Tom’s of Maine, Inc. for fraud and unjust enrichment based on several state consumer protection laws, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and common law tort. Plaintiffs assert...