The U.S. District Court in the Western District of North Carolina recently held in Colony Insurance Co. v. Buckeye Fire Equipment Co. that an insurance company must defend personal injury claims arising from direct exposure to Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF) under a Commercial General Liability (CGL) Policy despite the policy containing a “Hazardous Materials Exclusion.” That exclusion requires a … Continue Reading

In September 2020, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) finalized the settlement of an enforcement action against Cannon Air Force Base (CAFB), a federal facility, relating to the facility’s discharge of PFAS-containing wastewater to groundwater without a permit. According to the allegations of an administrative compliance order (ACO) issued in January 2020, CAFB had an existing groundwater discharge permit that … Continue Reading

On October 13, 2020, North Carolina, acting through its Attorney General, filed suit in state court against DuPont, Chemours and related companies seeking costs to investigate, assess, remediate, restore and remedy PFAS contamination “across a broad swath of North Carolina.” The complaint alleges that the defendants contaminated the land, air, water and natural resources of North Carolina as a result … Continue Reading

In July 2020, we posted on takeback disposal options for some PFAS-containing firefighting foams, with a caveat about recent actions taken by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) to suspend incineration of AFFF that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) had sent to a hazardous waste facility in Cohoes, NY, pending the results of environmental sampling in … Continue Reading

States continue to develop standards, guidance and goals for PFAS. The ITRC has updated its table for PFAS in groundwater, drinking water and surface water/effluent to reflect the values in effect as of August 31, 2020. https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/fact-sheets/. A graphic depicting the states that have set standards, guidance or goals is set forth below.

PFAS - State Survey Litigation Map

Source: ITRC PFAS Fact Sheets updated … Continue Reading

In a previous post, we noted the New Hampshire Superior Court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction enjoining the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) from implementing final maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) and ambient groundwater quality (AGQS) standards for four PFAS compounds.  On July 23, 2020, Governor Chris Sununu signed into law legislation that set maximum contaminant levels … Continue Reading

Earlier this year, North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality proposed a new rule to the Environmental Management Commission’s Groundwater Committee to set the groundwater standards for PFOA and PFOS at a combined allowed level of 70 parts per trillion (or 0.07 parts per billion).  Currently, there are no standards for PFOS, and the interim standard for PFOA established in 2006 … Continue Reading

As the political season begins in earnest with the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, PFAS is one subject for which regulatory action already under consideration may be accelerated if the White House changes hands from Republican to Democrat.

According to Biden’s “Plan to Secure Environmental Justice and Equitable Economic Opportunity,” three steps that a Biden administration would take … Continue Reading

According to ITRC, 13 states (Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont) regulate PFAS in drinking water through an MCL, screening level and/or action level. Some states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, are now regulating PFAS in water discharges. Regulation of water discharges containing PFAS presents challenges due to … Continue Reading