PFAS (Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances)

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The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari in a case involving the federal officer removal statute on March 2. Petitioners Maryland and South Carolina sought review of a 2025 Fourth Circuit decision addressing whether 3M could remove state-court PFAS actions to federal court under 28 USC § 1442(a)(1).

Maryland and South Carolina each filed two PFAS-related lawsuits against 3M: one seeking recovery for contamination arising from AFFF contamination, and another specifically excluding recovery for contamination arising…

Continue Reading Supreme Court Declines Review of the Fourth Circuit’s Federal Officer Removal Decision in Maryland v. 3M

On Nov. 10, 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced its proposal to change reporting regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”). In its release, the EPA stated that these changes are intended to “make them more practical and implementable and reduce unnecessary, or potentially duplicative, reporting requirements for businesses” while ensuring access to PFAS safety and use information. The EPA identified the reporting regulations for reconsideration consistent with Executive Order…

Continue Reading “Practical” Changes to EPA’s PFAS Reporting Requirements

On Sept. 11, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the agency’s own drinking water standards (MCLs) for four PFAS chemicals: PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA, and (through a “hazard index”) PFBS (referred to collectively as the “Index PFAS”). EPA is now apparently siding with the group of petitioners that are challenging the PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, which was promulgated in 2024 during the Biden administration. EPA is now claiming that the…

Continue Reading EPA Moves to Vacate All Drinking Water Standards for PFAS Other Than PFOA and PFOS

EPA’s stance on the 2024 PFAS Rule continues to remain in the balance. But as the clock continues to run on litigation over the Rule, EPA may be forced to provide a conclusion in the near future.

The Rule

On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule designating two widely used per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) —perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)—as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Notably…

Continue Reading What Will EPA Do with the 2024 CERCLA PFAS Rule?

With a new administration in Washington, D.C., the environmental community has been at the edge of its collective seat awaiting word on the fate of one of the most significant elements of EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap – the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for selected PFAS. The MCLs, following EPA’s initial – though unenforceable – PFAS Health Advisory Levels – were promulgated on April 10, 2024, and quickly became the cornerstone of EPA’s PFAS regulatory initiative. MCLs not only govern the…

Continue Reading EPA Announces Plans to Keep PFOA and PFOS MCLs at Levels Set under Biden Administration

Those required to comply with certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) have been afforded an eight-month delay, shifting reporting to commence July 11, 2025, and be completed by Jan. 11, 2026. Reporting was supposed to commence Nov. 12, 2024, before this delay was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The delay is driven by funding shortages leading to delays in the reporting software development.
Continue Reading TSCA Reporting Deadline for Manufacturers and Importers of PFAS and PFAS-Containing Articles Extended to July 11, 2025

EPA is requiring additional testing at sites subject to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund) five-year review based on PFAS standards issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

In April 2024, EPA finalized a rule designating two of the most studied and prevalent PFAS,  Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), as hazardous substances under CERCLA. The rule was published May 8, 2024, and became effective July 8, 2024. 40 CFR § 302.4(a).

Continue Reading EPA Requiring Additional Actions at Superfund Sites Based on Safe Drinking Water Act Standards for PFAS

On July 24, 2024, Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) published a study relating to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in pesticide products. PFAS are a class of manmade chemicals used for decades in industrial/consumer products because of properties like resistance to heat, fire, stains, and water. PFAS have been linked to serious health concerns, such as cancer, and have been detected in water, soil, air, food, household and workplace materials, and human blood across the world.

The study…

Continue Reading Recent Study Finds PFAS in Pesticide Products

On July 22, 2024, the Center for Food Safety and several other entities submitted a petition to EPA relating to the potential presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in pesticide products registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The petition cites to studies and reports showing the presence of PFAS in registered pesticide products, EPA’s finding that PFAS can leach into pesticide products from fluorinated pesticide containers, and EPA’s acknowledgement of human health and environmental dangers…

Continue Reading Petitioners Request Further EPA Action Regarding PFAS in Registered Pesticide Products
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On August 8, 2024, the Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI), an environmental organization based in Georgia,  and the City of Calhoun, Georgia (the City), announced that they had reached a proposed settlement in a citizen suit case involving alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) focused solely on the City’s land application of PFAS-containing biosolids.

CRBI, through its counsel at Southern Environmental Law Center, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on March 7, 2024, against the City and the owner of property used for land application of the City’s biosolids. The Complaint included the following alleged CWA violations:

  • The City’s land application of PFAS-contaminated biosolids onto land that was hydrologically connected to navigable waters through groundwater was the “functional equivalent” of discharging PFAS directly into navigable waters without an NPDES permit;
  • That PFAS are a toxic pollutant and that the City, therefore, violated its existing NPDES permit by failing to “take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent any discharge or sludge disposal which might adversely affect human health or the environment,” provide notice to downstream users and take reasonable steps to prevent injury when a toxic substance has been discharged, and enforce noncompliance with any applicable pretreatment standard or requirement.

Continue Reading Settlement Reached in Biosolids Focused PFAS Litigation