PFAS Legislative Developments (October 2023)

November 3, 2023

October 2023 PFAS Legislative Developments

Two Federal bills introduced in September.
One bill requires the Secretary of Defense to request modifications relating to certain permits issued under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
One bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem certain substances, including PFAS, to be unsafe for use as food contact substances.

88 FR 209 has been finalized and will become effective 11/30/2023. The EPA is adding PFAS subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) to the list of Lower Thresholds for Chemicals of Special Concern. These PFAS already have a lower reporting activity threshold of 100 pounds. The addition of these PFAS to the list of chemicals of special concern means such PFAS are subject to the same reporting requirements as other chemicals of special concern, thus eliminating the use of the de minimis exemption and the option to use Form A. Removing the availability of these burden-reduction reporting options will result in a more complete picture of the releases and waste management quantities for these PFAS. EPA is removing the availability of the de minimis exemption for purposes of the Supplier Notification Requirements for all chemicals on the list of chemicals of special concern. This will help ensure that purchasers of mixtures and trade name products containing such chemicals are informed of their presence in mixtures and products they purchase to better inform any TRI reporting obligations.

One bill was introduced in Michigan’s legislature. The bill amends an existing bill that governs renewable energy systems by incorporating requirements to mitigate PFAS contamination in potable water.

On 10/9/23 Virginia (VA) published a new regulation, 9VAC25-31. Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permit Regulation. The amendments now amendments define PFAS and require pretreatment standards for any industrial user of a publicly owned treatment works that receives and cleans, repairs, refurbishes, or processes any equipment, parts, or media used to treat any water or wastewater from any off-site manufacturing process that the industrial user knows or reasonably should know uses PFAS chemicals to test its waste stream for PFAS chemicals prior to and after cleaning, repairing, refurbishing, or processing such items.