Congress remains far from agreement on new legislation to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water and the environment, even as each chamber approved its own versions of defense policy legislation this summer that included differing suites of PFAS provisions. Congressional leaders are hoping to complete work on the defense bill, and finalize a PFAS policy, this fall.
Legislation approved by the Senate in June would overhaul the Safe Drinking Water Act’s (SDWA) process for regulating PFAS chemicals. The bill would direct EPA to finalize drinking water regulations for PFOA and PFOS within two years, while also establishing an expedited regulatory process for other PFAS found in drinking water. The House version of the bill approved in July, by contrast, would require EPA to designate all PFAS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, without exempting drinking water systems or other entities that may handle PFAS on a pass-through basis.
Each chamber’s PFAS proposals were included as part of their respective National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020. The NDAA is annual legislation that authorizes Defense Department activities and outlines the nation’s defense policies for the year. The NDAA has been eyed as a vehicle for PFAS legislation in part because of the Defense Department’s role in contributing PFAS pollution into the environment.
AWMA has raised concerns with the PFAS language in both the House and Senate NDAA bills, and the association has remained in contact with congressional staff to encourage the formulation of legislation that preserves SDWA’s transparent and science-based regulatory process while also shielding water systems from environmental cleanup liability related to chemicals like PFAS that may be filtered out of drinking water supplies.
The House and Senate officially began conference committee negotiations on the NDAA on September 19, so those talks could jumpstart progress on a final PFAS agreement. Congressional staff recently indicated that initial negotiations on the PFAS provisions proceeded more slowly than had been expected during August.