By John O’Brien | Legal Newsline
The Center Square

Democrat state attorneys general are resisting changes made by the Trump administration that affect what companies must disclose about the use of chemicals known as PFAS.

They have been nicknamed “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the human body, but the exact health effects are unknown. States have set their own toxicity levels for water and ground soil and hired private lawyers to sue companies like DuPont and 3M on contingency fees.

Biden-era rules would have had businesses issuing reports on PFAS use from 2011-2022. The Trump EPA’s changes include a delay in when reports would be submitted, and those amendments are currently in the public-comment period.

At least two groups of AGs have filed comments, as have many business groups supporting Trump’s changes. The main point of debate is exemptions typically afforded under the Toxic Substances Control Act that weren’t initially provided by Biden’s EPA but now are by Trump’s.

Businesses, under Trump’s rule, would not have to report PFAS imported as part of a product and PFAS that are byproducts not used for a commercial purpose.

“In effect, the Proposal would gut the Reporting Rule – by adding exemptions which effectively would reduce the number of responding entities by over 98% – and thus impede important data collection,” wrote a coalition of 15 AGs, 14 of whom are Democrats and one is technically nonpartisan.

Their lawsuits are often transferred to a federal court in South Carolina, where a multidistrict litigation proceeding has led to billions of dollars in settlements of some types of claims. Disclosure by companies could give ammunition to lawyers, as an EPA press release from 2023 said the agency “looks forward to sharing that data with our partners and the public.”

Business groups cite the costs of finding PFAS in products they have imported and sold since 2011 in supporting Trump’s changes. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several trade groups asked for more exemptions, including the omission of PFAS releases that are above the 0.1% minimum standard but were in such low volume that they had no impact.

“The proposed rule demonstrates an understanding of the operational realities faced by regulated entities, including to what extent certain information about PFAS is known or reasonably ascertainable by regulated entities,” the groups wrote Dec. 29.

PFAS are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they persist in groundwater and human tissue for years. They are found in firefighting foam and consumer products.

Biden’s EPA set a maximum contaminant level for PFAS, even as groups call the move premature. Much of the research regarding their effect on the human body is disputed, with the American Chemistry Council calling the EPA’s regulation “rushed” and “unscientific.”

Trump rescinded that level in May for some PFAS chemicals and extended the deadline for companies to comply. A lawsuit by environmental advocates like Earthjustice targets the four chemicals that would not be regulated.