The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a Final Rule on April 19, 2024, designating two of the most common per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—PFOA and PFOS, including their salts and structural isomers—as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Exposure of these substances have been linked to cancers, impacts on the liver and heart and immune ad developmental damage to infants and children.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s because of their useful properties. In the environment, PFAS have been found in soil and water at or near waste sites such as at landfills; disposal and hazardous waste sites; where aqueous film-forming foams were used to extinguish flammable liquid-based fires; manufacturing or chemical production facilities that produce or use PFAS; food packaging; household products for their use in stain and water-repellents, cleaning products, non-stick cookware, paints, sealants, personal care products, and biosolids from wastewater treatment plants that are used as fertilizers on agricultural lands. One common concern with PFAS is that many break down very slowly and can bioaccumulate in people, animals, and the environment.

In addition to this final rule, the EPA is issuing a separate enforcement discretion policy under CERLA stating that the EPA will focus enforcement on the parties who have significantly contributed to the release of PFAs chemicals into the environment. Including, but not limited to any party that has manufactured PFAs or used PFAs in the process, within federal facilities or other industrial parties.

There has been substantial scientific evidence indicating that when these substances are released into the environment, they may present a significant danger to public health, welfare, or the environment. The evidence that they can accumulate and persist in the human body for some time and cause adverse health effects was instrumental taking this long overdue measure.

EPA will publish the Final Rule in the Federal Registry shortly and it will become effective 60 days after the published date. NV5’s Environmental Staff has been anticipating this Final Rule and are qualified to include this reporting and its mandates in our environmental reports. Please reach out to us with any questions.