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WASHINGTON—Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment & Climate Change, under the leadership of Chairman Paul D. Tonko, voted to advance 13 bills to address America’s growing PFAS contamination crisis. 

PFAS is a class of chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS and thousands of other variants. These synthetic ‘forever’ chemicals are present as air pollution, contaminants in drinking water, numerous consumer goods and packaging, firefighting foam and more. They have been tied to serious and sometimes deadly illness including kidney disease, thyroid dysfunction and various forms of cancer. Once PFAS chemicals are released, they are costly and difficult to clean up, and are estimated to be present in the blood of 99 percent of Americans. 

Bills advanced out of the Environment & Climate Change Subcommittee today include legislation to:

• Designate PFAS as a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act
• Designate PFAS as a hazardous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), a.k.a. “Superfund”
• Provide grants for PFAS-affected drinking water systems to put in treatment infrastructure
• Issue guidance for firefighters to minimize their risks of PFAS exposure
• Set a Maximum Containment Level (MCL) for PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
• Create a “Safer Choice” label for pots, pans and cooking utensils that are PFAS-free
• Require comprehensive testing of all PFAS under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
• Prevent the use of new PFAS chemical formulations and significant new applications
• Hold PFAS manufacturers financially responsible for any necessary cleanup
• Raise public disclosure standards for communities facing any PFAS releases 

Despite announcing its PFAS Action Plan more than seven months ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to move forward on a maximum contaminant level (MCL), designation of PFAS as a hazardous substance or take other essential steps to protect communities.