Sep 302021

Stricter PFAS Regulations Added to Defense Authorization Bill

Samuel B. Boxerman and Hannah Posen
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On September 22, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a consolidated amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022 related to the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). If enacted, the bipartisan amendment would require a number of PFAS-related actions, including these:

  • Within two years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be required to issue drinking water standards for two key PFAS.
  • The exception to the Toxics Release Inventory reporting requirements for mixtures containing less than 1% PFAS would be eliminated.
  • Facilities that manufactured PFAS in the past 10 years would be required to submit detection methods specific to PFAS.

Industry groups have opposed the proposed PFAS amendment because it circumvents EPA’s rulemaking process and mandates actions that are not based on scientific evaluations.

The NDAA is subject to debate and a vote in the U.S. Senate before being sent to President Joe Biden.

This post is as of the posting date stated above. Sidley Austin LLP assumes no duty to update this post or post about any subsequent developments having a bearing on this post.

Samuel B. Boxerman

Washington, D.C.

sboxerman@sidley.com

Hannah Posen

Chicago

hposen@sidley.com

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