Category: PFAS

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New Jersey / PFAS
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Decoding a Landmark Case: Environmental Laws and Legal Strategy in New Jersey’s PFAS Trial against DuPont

A high-stakes environmental trial is unfolding in New Jersey, where the state is taking on E.I. DuPont de Nemours and its related entities over widespread PFAS contamination at the former Chamber Works facility in Salem County. The outcome of this case — one of the most closely watched environmental proceedings in the country — could have a significant ripple effect on how other states pursue PFAS-related claims and how corporate defendants approach these increasingly high-profile cases.

In this case, New Jersey alleges that DuPont and …

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Colorado / PFAS
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Colorado Bans Sale and Distribution of Products Containing PFAS

As regularly reported by the Environmental Law Monitor, state legislatures have increasingly been taking action independent of federal government regulation to address the significant challenge of eliminating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS from their jurisdictions.

Shortly after the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its first-ever drinking water standards for six PFAS in April, Colorado on May 1 became the 13th state to pass legislation seeking to ban PFAS from the marketplace. Specifically, Colorado’s new law, SB24-081, targets the sale and …

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PFAS / Settlements
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Breaking News: Significant PFAS Settlement in New Jersey

Another major settlement was announced this week in New Jersey in consolidated cases filed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and other state entities. (You can review the Judicial Consent Order here as well as previously PFAS settlements reported by our firm here and here, including in New Jersey for remediation costs.)

Settling plaintiffs, including the NJ DEP and its commissioner, and the administrator of the NJ Spill Compensation Fund,  alleged that “3M designed, manufactured, marketed, and sold certain PFAS, …

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EPA Offices, Washington DC
EPA / PFAS
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EPA Announces List of Upcoming Agency Actions to Address PFAS

The Environmental Protection Agency announced April 28 a list of upcoming agency actions to address Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). 

This week’s announcement provides a broad outline of EPA’s plans that centers around three principles: (1) strengthening the scientific understanding of PFAS, (2) fulfilling statutory obligations and enhancing communication, and (3) building partnerships. 

PFAS are a class of thousands of humanmade “forever chemicals” that can last for many years in the environment. They are used in manufacturing and consumer products, such as non-stick pans, raincoats, …

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California / PFAS
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California Bill Expands Definition of ‘Intentionally Added PFAS’

Our blog has reported previously on California PFAS regulations, including its watershed laws with novel definitions of PFAS and the noted problems with the total organic fluorine testing method. (Prior CA blog posts on PFAS).

We have also written on California’s PFAS ban in many children’s products and in disposable food packaging (here), California’s requirements on carpet and rug manufacturers to consider alternatives to PFAS, and bans (except under specified circumstances) on any cosmetic product that contains any of several specified …

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New Jersey / PFAS
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New Jersey Proposal Transitions PFAS Criteria to Enforceable Remediation Standards

In March, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) proposed to formally add GenX, PFNA, PFOA, PFOS — all PFAS compounds — and methanol to the list of regulated contaminants under various statutes.

This includes the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS), Remediation Standards, and Technical Requirements for Site Remediation.

The proposed amendments establish a specific ground water quality criterion for GenX, as well as soil and soil leachate remediation standards for PFNA, PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and methanol. Each of these contaminants were previously regulated …

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Litigation / PFAS
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New Strategy is Embraced for Product Identification in Multidistrict PFAS Litigation

The Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) MDL has taken a significant step forward with the introduction of a new case management program intended to streamline the complex process of product identification. The program’s structured approach is designed to enhance efficiency and accuracy in identifying the sources of contamination, thereby facilitating more effective legal proceedings.

The AFFF MDL is a multidistrict litigation that consolidates thousands of lawsuits across the United States concerning exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (or PFAS). Due to its motility and unique chemical properties, …

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EPA / PFAS
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Update RE: EPA’s Proposed PFAS Rule Comment Period

In 2024, the EPA proposed a PFAS rule with a January 17, 2025, comment deadline in response to questions from the industry regarding the effective date of supplier notifications for mixtures or trade name products containing a per- or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 90 Fed. Reg. 10043. Stakeholders questioned whether the supplier notification requirements for PFAS begin on January 1, 2025, when PFAS were to be added to the statutory TRI chemical list, or upon EPA completing a rulemaking …

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New Jersey / PFAS
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Trial and Juror: 3M and Dupont Move to ‘Bench’ NJDEP PFAS Case

In 2019, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) brought suit against Dupont and 3M seeking clean-up, removal, and costs for what NJ officials claimed was more than 100 years of indiscriminate dumping of thousands of pollutants into the Chambers Works compound in Salem County, NJ.

According to the pleadings, among the contaminants released were per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known for their motility and resistance to biodegradation, and linked to various kinds of cancer. The complaint alleges PFAS have been knowingly dispersed into …

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EPA Offices, Washington DC
EPA / PFAS
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EPA Continues Removing Confidential Business Info and De Minimis Exemptions for PFAS Chemicals

While ringing in the New Year, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the addition of nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances to the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), making them the latest PFAS that can no longer be claimed as confidential business information. 

These chemicals include the following:

  • Ammonium perfluorodecanoate (PFDA NH4) (3108-42-7)
  • Sodium perfluorodecanoate (PFDA-Na) (3830-45-3)
  • Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (377-73-1)
  • 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate acid (27619-97-2)
  • 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate anion (425670-75-3)
  • 6:2
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