Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances News
It seems that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a daily part of our news cycle. The constantly changing PFAS landscape is one of the reasons why we decided to set up our PFAS Resources Page a few years ago. On this page, we post regulatory, legal, and technical updates as we are aware of them.
In this blog, we look at a few recent PFAS news items that may be significant, at least for some.
Maine Bans Land Application of Biosolids
Maine became the first state to ban land application of biosolids. Maine’s state legislature passed a bill (L.D. 1911) that prohibits land application of biosolids and the sale of compost that contains sludge. See “An Act To Prohibit the Contamination of Clean Soils with So-called Forever Chemicals.”
Some farms in Maine that land-applied biosolids to their fields later found out that the biosolids contained PFAS. In some cases, the farms (including crops and livestock) have become an environmental liability and cannot be used for farming.
Lawyer Erin Brockovich, well known for her initial work as a law clerk fighting groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California, has turned her attention to PFAS contamination in Maine.
Land application of biosolids on farm fields has been used for years to amend the soil and provide nutrients. Maine recently banned this practice due to concerns over PFAS (Image by Lubos Houska from Pixabay).
Ms. Brockovich, speaking about the PFAS impact in Maine said, “This is a very serious issue. This will be the largest groundwater contamination, land application, toxic poisoning this country has ever seen. It will affect all of us, it’s already in every single state. Maine is a community that is becoming very vocal and has stood up, but this is a real issue that is widespread in Maine, by the way.”
Not all biosolids are believed to have PFAS, only those that accepted wastewater and processed water from specific industries that used PFAS, such as electroplaters and paper mills. That said, it would not be surprising to see other states follow suit with similar bans.
Federally-Issued NPDES Permits Include PFAS
The US Environmental Protection Agency issues all National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, District of Columbia, and U.S. territories (except Virgin Islands), and to certain federal facilities and on tribal lands. If you have operations in one of those states and you have an NPDES permit, you may have to monitor for PFAS.
A memorandum issued April 28, 2022, from EPA Assistant Administrator, Radhika Fox, to Water Division Directors in all EPA Regions, states, “EPA will use the NPDES program to restrict PFAS discharges to water bodies. For federally-issued permits, EPA will include requirements to monitor for PFAS, include requirements to use best management practices like product substitution and good housekeeping practices, and establish practices to address PFAS-containing firefighting foams in storm water. In addition to reducing PFAS discharges, this program will enable EPA to obtain comprehensive information on the sources and quantities of PFAS discharges and will use these data to inform the agency’s Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) actions.”
According to the memo, this will apply to industry categories known or suspected to discharge PFAS including organic chemicals, plastics & synthetic fibers (OCPSF); metal finishing; electroplating; electric and electronic components; landfills; pulp, paper & paperboard; leather tanning & finishing; plastics molding & forming; textile mills; paint formulating, and airports (not an exhaustive list).
While this applies to only those states where EPA issues the permits, again, it would not be surprising if those states with permitting authority followed suit.
Consumer Class-Action Claims involving PFAS
We have seen reports about PFAS in a myriad of consumer products including, clothing, food packing, and cosmetics. We have also seen consumer class action lawsuits with respect to PFAS in consumer products; in fact, Dragun provided litigation support on one of these cases.
A recent article in National Law Review discussed these consumer class actions. “Plaintiffs’ counsel have brought consumer class actions against the makers and sellers of food and beverages alleging that the presence of PFAS in the labeled product renders the labeling false and misleading. Consumer class actions involving PFAS typically allege that the presence of PFAS renders affirmative representations on the product labeling false or misleading, or that the presence of PFAS must be disclosed on the label.”
The article concluded, “Unfortunately, it appears that the food and beverage industry will see a new waves of class action litigation focused on the presence of PFAS in products.
However, it also appears that many tried and true defense strategies will be applicable to such claims, and the unique nature of PFAS litigation will provide class defendants with additional strategies.”
We discussed one of the class action lawsuits in our March 28, 2022 blog – See PFAS: Massive Class Action, Due Diligence, and PFAS in Containers.
PFAS Expertise
If you need technical support on a project involving PFAS, we can help. We have provided technical support on projects involving impacted groundwater, permits, and litigation support on projects involving PFAS contamination. For a confidential discussion regarding your project, contact Jeffrey Bolin, M.S., CHMM or Matthew Schroeder, M.S., P.E. at 248-932-0228.
This blog was drafted by Alan Hahn. Alan has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and completed a graduate program in Environmental Management. He has worked in environmental management for 45 years and has written hundreds of blogs and articles. His published work includes Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Detroiter, Michigan Forward, GreenStone Partners, Manure Manager Magazine, Progressive Dairy, and HazMat Magazine.
The blog was reviewed by Jeffrey Bolin, M.S. Jeff is a partner and senior scientist at Dragun Corporation. He is a published author, frequent speaker, and expert witness. His expertise in environmental due diligence, PFAS, vapor intrusion, and site assessments has led to projects in the US, Canada, and overseas. See Jeff’s Bio.
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