March 2023 PFAS Legislative Developments
March Legislation Tracking (Mar 1, 2023 – Mar 31, 2023)
Current Trends in Legislation – March 2023
3 Federal Bills Introduced
- Federal Level
- Key point addressed: Agency appointment to handle PFAS issues, grant to address PFAS on farming land.
Water Quality
- States Involved: ME, MN, NJ, CO, RI, FL
- Key point addressed: Testing and precautionary measures for clean water in public areas and drinking water.
Firefighting Foam
- States Involved: DE, MA, NC, PA
- Key point addressed: Prohibiting use of PFAS substances in firefighting foam
New Bills This Period
PFAS Legislation
Federal
- 3 Bills Introduced
State
- 41 bills were introduced in February mentioning PFAS
- CO- 1
- DE – 2
- FL – 2
- HI- 4
- ME – 3
- MA- 15
- MN – 11
- NJ – 1
- NY – 4
- NC- 4
- PA – 1
- RI – 2
- SC – 1
Signed into Law
No bills related to PFAs were signed into law in March 2023
Highlighted Bills – PFAS Legislation
Federal
Federal Bill: S 820
- Bill Name: Protecting Consumers from PFAS Act
- Sponsors: Gary Peters
- Introduced: 3/15/2023
- Status:(3/15/2023) Introduced
- Summary: A bill to add the Consumer Product Safety Commission to the list of agencies required to be represented on the PFAS interagency working group.
Federal Bill: HR 1517
- Bill Name: Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act
- Sponsors: Chellie Pingree
- Introduced: 3/9/2023
- Status:(3/9/2023) Introduced
- Summary:To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants to States, territories, and Indian Tribes to address contamination by PFAS substances on farms, and for other purposes. The Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall provide grants to eligible governments (farmland) for the purposes of monitoring potential PFAS-related health issues; compensating PFAS contamination; investing in equipment
- Note:Also filed in the Senate under S 747
State
State Bill: H581 (RI)
- Bill Name: Relating to Waters and Navigation – PFAS in Drinking Water, Groundwater, and Surface Water
- Sponsors: Speakman
- Introduced: 3/1/2023
- Status:(3/1/2023) Introduced
- Summary: By 7/1/23, all public water supply systems in the state shall conduct monitoring for the presence of PFAS. If the PFAs contaminants exceed the interim drinking water standard, the department shall draft and enter into a consent agreement with a public water supply system requiring dates for submittal of construction plans and specifications, prepared and stamped by a professional engineer to implement treatment or remedy to reduce the levels of PFAS contaminants in the drinking water.
- Note: Bill filed under state senate as S274.
State Bill: HB1242 (CO)
- Bill Name: Concerning Water Used in Oil and Gas Operations.
- Sponsors: Andrew Boesenecker
- Introduced: 3/11/2023
- Status:(3/11/2023) Introduced
- Summary:The bill requires an oil and gas operator in the state (operator), on or before January 31, 2024, and at least annually thereafter, to report information to the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission (commission) regarding the operator’s use of water entering, utilized at, or exiting each of the operator’s oil and gas locations; the commission must Report to the division of administration (division) in the department of public health and environment, on a per-incident basis, any indication of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material or PFAS chemicals present in produced water.
State Bill: S350 (NC)
- Bill Name: An Act to Protect North Carolina Citizens from Harmful Toxins in Drinking Water
- Sponsors: Meyer
- Introduced: 3/22/2023
- Status:(3/22/2023) Introduced
- Summary: Commission for Public Health shall commence rulemaking to establish maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), as that term is defined under G.S. 130A-313, for probable or known carcinogens and other toxic chemicals that are likely to pose a substantial hazard to public health. At a minimum, the Commission shall establish MCLs for all of the following contaminants, including PFAS
State Bill: A5301 (NJ)
- Bill Name: Requires DEP to study feasibility of using alternative water supply source when perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances exceed maximum contaminant level
- Sponsors: Lisa Swain
- Introduced: 3/16/2023
- Status:(3/16/2023) Introduced
- Summary: Within one year after the date of enactment of this section, the DEP shall conduct a study concerning the use of alternative drinking water supply sources when PFAS exceed maximum contaminant levels. As part of the study, the department shall consider the drinking water supply sources available to public community water systems in the State and identify alternative drinking water supplies that may be available for use by public community water systems to provide water to the customers of the system when an exceedance of a maximum contaminant level for a PFAS substance is discovered.
State Bill: HF2586 (MN)
- Bill Name: A bill for an act relating to taxation; imposing a gross revenues tax on entities manufacturing and selling products containing PFAS.
- Sponsors: Hansen
- Introduced: 3/6/2023
- Status:(3/6/2023) Introduced
- Summary: Tax imposed for a manufacturer who has nexus in Minnesota equal to 50% of gross revenue derived from products containing PFAS manufactured in Minnesota and sold to a distributor; for a retailer who has nexus in Minnesota a tax equal to 50% of gross revenue derived from the retail sale of products containing PFAS in Minnesota; a cleanup account is also established by the revenue fund.
State Bill: HCR20 (DE)
- Bill Name: Requesting the Delaware State Fire School to Develop a Program for The Disposal of Aqueous Film Forming Foam
- Sponsors: Short
- Introduced: (3/16/2023
- Status:(3/16/2023) Introduced
- Summary: The Delaware State Fire School ascertain the inventory of all Aqueous Film Forming Foam currently stored within Delaware Fire Departments and Fire Companies, including the Wilmington Fire Department, is requested to propose a plan for the safe disposal of the State of Delaware’s inventory of Aqueous Film Forming Foam and any variation of firefighting foam containing PFAS.
Updates on Previously Highlighted Bills
Federal
State
