All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule seeking to set effluent limitation guidelines for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) was withdrawn from Office of Management & Budget (OMB) review following President Trump’s Executive Order implementing a regulatory freeze. Federal action may be halted, but states are beginning to enact legislation that seeks to address PFAS contained in industrial...

On March 5, 2025, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced the availability of its final State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report (State of PFAS Report) and proposed risk management approach for PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers. The State of PFAS Report concludes that the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, is harmful to human health and the environment. To address these risks, on March 8, 2025, Canada published a proposed order that would add the...

On February 21, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment deadline for the January 17, 2025, proposed rule to clarify the timeframe for when companies must first notify a customer that one of its mixtures or trade name products contains a per- or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 90 Fed. Reg. 10043. As reported in our January 22, 2025, blog item, the Biden EPA proposed the rule...

On February 5, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delayed until March 21, 2025, the effective date of a January 2025 rule adding nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals subject to toxic chemical release reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). 90 Fed. Reg. 9010. As reported in our January 13, 2025, blog item, the January rule updates the regulations...

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has posted a January 2025 report to the legislature regarding recommendations for products containing lead, cadmium, and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). During the previous legislative session, the legislature directed MPCA to support a report by January 31, 2025, with legislative recommendations related to the following chemicals and products: The MPCA report recommends that the legislature grant an exemption until 2032 for the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on January 17, 2025, to clarify the timeframe for when companies must first notify a customer that one of its mixtures or trade name products contains a per- or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 90 Fed. Reg. 5795. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) adds certain PFAS automatically to the TRI beginning January 1 of the year following specific...

On January 7, 2025, Lynn L. Bergeson was interviewed by Christopher Bornmann in Pulling the Threads of the ‘Complicated Patchwork of Federal and State Law’ around PFAS Class Action Lawsuits for the 3E blog. Portions of this article covering the current landscape surrounding PFAS class action lawsuits are shared below by permission. To better understand the current landscape surrounding PFAS class action lawsuits and how companies can protect themselves from litigation, 3E sat down with Lynn...

In April 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened an enormous can of worms for entities even remotely association with the generation, transport, use or disposal of two legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). In designating the PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the EPA greenlit the initiation of...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 14, 2025, a draft risk assessment of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge. According to EPA, the findings show that there may be human health risks associated with exposure to PFOA or PFOS with all three methods of using or disposing of sewage sludge — land application...