The U.S. House of Representatives passed the PFAS Action Act of 2021 in a 241-183 vote on July 21.
Introduced by Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) and Fred Upton (R-Michigan), the PFAS Action Act of 2021, if passed by the Senate, would:
- Require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish within two years a national drinking water standard for the two most notorious PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) — PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
- Designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances within one year and require the EPA to determine whether to list other PFAS within five years
- Designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous air pollutants within 180 days and require the EPA to determine whether to list other PFAS within five years
- Require the EPA to place discharge limits on industrial releases of PFAS and provide $200 million annually for wastewater treatment
- Prohibit unsafe incineration of PFAS waste and place a moratorium on the introduction of new PFAS into commerce
- Require comprehensive PFAS health testing
- Create a voluntary label for PFAS in cookware
- Create a new database for private well owners to locate resources to test their water quality.
In a late addition to the legislation, language from the Test Your Well Water Act was also incorporated into the bill. The Test Your Well Water Act would instruct EPA to create an online tool for private well owners to easily access water testing resources and help them better understand the results.
As with previous versions of the PFAS Action Act, the current bill’s fate in the Senate is unknown. The Senate refused consideration of a similar bill in 2019.
Click here to read the PFAS Action Act of 2021.
NGWA has long been an industry leader in providing PFAS research, education, and resources to the public and scientific communities. In 2017, NGWA published Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which was one of the first PFAS guidance documents to be released. It can be found at NGWA.org/PFAS, which is a complete resource center about the groundwater contaminants featuring a FAQs document, a top-10 facts sheet, a homeowner checklist, and more.