Natural Resource Damages & Environmental Justice
Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
What are PFAS and Why Should We Care?
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced "major EPA actions to combat PFAS contamination." EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said that he has "long been concerned about PFAS and the efforts to...more
On April 12, 2024, two days after EPA issued a final rule setting standards for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in public drinking water, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) concluded its...more
On April 8, 2024, the EPA Administrator signed the final rule establishing drinking water standards, also known as MCLs, for six PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, GenX (HFPO-DA), PFHxS, and PFBS). The final MCLs for PFOA and PFOS are...more
As expected, 2023 was an expansive year for the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) at the federal level. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took (or at least proposed)...more
In the latest edition of the PFAS Primer Quarterly Update, our roundup of regulatory, litigation, and scientific actions involving PFAS. This quarter, the OMB reviews RCRA and CERCLA PFAS rules, Washington State wants more...more
On March 14, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). PFAS are a category of...more
Aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”) is a hot topic in per- and polyfluorinated Substances (“PFAS”) litigation. AFFF is used to fight gasoline, oil, and jet fuel fires by producing an aqueous film that spreads across a fire’s...more
As anticipated, 2022 was another eventful year for the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) at the federal level. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took significant actions under...more
In the first designation of its kind, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication proposed rule on August 26, 2022, designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid...more
Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era water rule, for now Bullet Associated Press - April 6 The Supreme Court this Wednesday reinstated a Trump-era rule curtailing the power of states and Native American tribes to block...more
In October 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, laying out the agency’s approach to PFAS regulation in the coming years. One of the most highly anticipated...more
On October 18, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued its highly anticipated PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021-2024, setting forth a three-year multi-agency strategy to address...more
If your organization has not already started thinking about PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), there's no time like the present. PFAS refers to a family of man-made, environmentally persistent chemicals (often...more
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a broad category of man-made chemicals that have been manufactured since the 1940s and have been used in a variety of products for their heat- and stain-resistance, including...more
By this time next year, a wide range of businesses, governments and citizens will know a lot more about per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFOS and PFOA) in their communities. PFOS and PFOA compounds are a family of...more
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation Centralizes Some COVID‐19 Related Insurance Cases As reported in our September update, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation at its July 2020 hearing session requested...more
There have been several recent developments involving PFAS regulation, most notably the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for certain long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS)....more
Recently, I participated in the Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) Master Class, PFAS: From Common Use to Concern. My fellow panelists and I discussed “PFAS in Water,” which included a discussion of the environmental and...more
The proposal marks another instance of EPA follow-through on its 2019 PFAS Action Plan. The SDWA requires EPA to make regulatory determinations every five years based on whether chemicals in public water systems pose a...more
Information about PFAS compounds in California is literally exploding, with additional contamination sites identified almost daily, while the science and legal environments surrounding these “forever chemicals” also see...more
Maine is taking several major steps in addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The Maine PFAS Task Force just issued its final report, which included a significant number of recommendations that are likely to...more
Despite extensive negotiation, insufficient bipartisan support was garnered to obtain inclusion of robust PFAS provisions in Congressional year-end spending legislation. Initially, there was some expectation that U.S. EPA...more
EPA is moving forward on the drinking water component of its PFAS Action Plan by requesting the Office of Management to review its proposed regulatory determinations for two types of PFAS. This is a definite step toward...more
On April 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published its Interim Recommendations for Addressing Groundwater Contaminated with PFOA and PFOS (the “Interim Recommendations”) and received 373 comments...more
Pierce Atwood LLP offers this summary of Maine Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) standards as a convenience in evaluating PFAS and tracking Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulatory and Maine...more