U.S. EPA And California Move Towards Comprehensive PFAS Regulation

In last year's update, we provided an overview of federal and California regulatory actions designed to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These actions affected a wide variety of stakeholders within the regulated community, including owners of PFAS-contaminated properties, water purveyors, sellers of products containing PFAS, and industries that utilize PFAS in their operations. Since that update, there have been significant developments, especially at the federal level, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed several rules and regulatory actions involving PFAS under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). Some of these developments indicate a shift in the regulatory posture from non-enforceable advisories