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 review of EPA’s final rule designating certain PFAS, or so-called “forever chemicals,” as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The final rule is expected to list the two most studied types of PFAS – perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic ...

In an Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City article titled "Digging Deeper - PFAS Considerations for the Ag and Food Markets," Lathrop GPM attorneys, Jessie Rosell and Grant Harse discuss the growing awareness and action around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or "forever chemicals" and how changes to EPA's and USDA's proposed classifications and guidelines for PFAS can impact a variety of agricultural operations, from the management and application of biosolids and pesticides to further restrictions on PFAS in food packaging, and updated drinking water ...

In August 2023, EPA released a best management fact sheet called Pollution Prevention Strategies for Industrial PFAS Discharges which provides information to address NPDES discharges containing PFAS under the Clean Water Act. The fact sheet aims to help permit writers and pretreatment coordinators by providing best management practices and examples. Under EPA’s new best management practices, EPA encourages permit writers and pretreatment coordinators to include PFAS monitoring limits when PFAS are present or suspected in discharges. The best management practices ...

In an Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City article titled "Digging Deeper - PFAS in Agriculture: What Agri-Business Sector Needs to Know about the Latest Emerging Contaminants," Lathrop GPM attorneys Ally Cunningham, Jessie Rosell, Matt Walker, and Shanna McCormack discuss the EPA's and USDA's proposed classifications and guidelines for PFAS. These changes can impact a variety of agricultural operations, from the management and application of biosolids and pesticides to federal aid payments received by dairy farmers for PFAS contamination, and updated drinking ...

Illinois is now the most recent state to take steps to address PFAS in drinking water. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) recently released non-enforceable Health Advisory Levels (HAL) for four different PFAS, including PFOA (one of the more prevalent and widely studied type of PFAS). Although a non-enforceable guidance level, Illinois EPA’s HAL for PFOA is among the lowest standards in the country at 2 parts per trillion (ppt), well below the 70 ppt HAL set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

What does this mean for Illinois businesses? Expect ...