Last month, EPA issued a press release outlining its “comprehensive PFAS strategy,” followed by a series of press releases announcing grant funding to over 40 states and territories for PFAS projects. The grant funding is the final installment of a 5-year, $5B allocation made by Congress in 2021 under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The funds are to be used for testing, planning, and infrastructure projects to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water in disadvantaged communities.
In addition to the grant funding and widely reported decisions to withdraw proposed drinking water standards for certain PFAS and extend the compliance deadline for other PFAS, EPA’s “Comprehensive PFAS Strategy” included several interesting updates:
- EPA announced that it will be advancing, within a few months, technology-based effluent limitations and pretreatment standards for “key industrial categories that discharge PFAS, including chemical manufacturers and other sources. . .” Prior to this announcement, EPA had been quiet about its intentions with respect to effluent limitations guidelines (“ELGs”) since President Trump took office and quickly withdrew proposed ELGs that would have applied to certain PFAS manufacturers.
- EPA re-affirmed its view that so-called “passive receivers” of PFAS should be protected, stating that it is “looking to hold polluters accountable for legacy contamination consistent with the polluter pays principle,” and that “a durable statutory fix from Congress” is necessary to protect “passive receivers” from future third-party claims and enforcement action. EPA’s press release does not define “passive receiver,” but EPA’s PFAS enforcement discretion policy issued in April 2024 states that “equitable factors do not support” taking CERCLA enforcement action for PFAS cleanup against the following groups: (i) community water systems and publicly-owned treatment works, (ii) municipal separate storm sewer systems, (iii) publicly owned/operated municipal solid waste landfills, (iv) publicly owned airports and local fire departments, and (v) farms where biosolids are applied to land.
- EPA touted its recent efforts to accelerate development and adoption of PFAS destruction and disposal technologies, including commitments to update its “PFAS Destruction and Disposal Guidance” every year (rather than every three years) and to continue its “robust” research program in these areas.
We will continue to monitor EPA’s PFAS initiatives and related announcements.