Utilities are dialing up the pressure on Congress to shield some industries from liability ahead of an EPA rule on “forever chemicals” — and some top senators are listening.
More than 250 entities have sent letters urging the Environment and Public Works Committee to carve out exemptions before EPA finalizes a rule designating some PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. That designation would trigger stricter reporting requirements and put polluters on the hook for cleaning up PFOA and PFOS, two of the most notorious PFAS tied to serious health risks such as cancer.
A range of entities — including airports, farmers, water utilities, waste managers, landfills, cities and other local offices — are so-called passive receivers and want exemptions that protect them from becoming responsible parties over chemicals they did not create. PFOA and PFOS persist in the environment and nearly half of U.S. tap water systems.
EPA has said it only intends to go after chemical manufacturers and the Defense Department, but the agency can not carve out exemptions under the law. That power rests solely with Congress — and on Wednesday, members of the EPW panel seemed receptive to a legislative fix.
