Three AGs Submitted Comments Criticizing EPA’s Failure to Set Safe Standards for PFAS Contamination

JUNE 10, 2019

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum submitted comments to the EPA criticizing the agency’s proposed guidance for the cleanup of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As the attorneys general noted in their comments, the EPA’s draft guidance proposed a screening level of 40 parts per trillion and a preliminary remediation goal of 70 parts per trillion for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) — significantly higher than what has been recommended by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry — and failed to provide recommendations for other PFAS compounds. The coalition requested that the agency revise its guidance for PFOA and PFOS to much lower levels that are supported by the best science available, establish screening and cleanup standards for other PFAS chemicals, and immediately designate PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.