New York Supreme Court rejects 3M's challenge to PFAS MCL

By Theodore Miele | Water World | June 23, 2022

Read the full article by Theodore Miele (Water World)

"In a recent decision, the State of New York Supreme Court of the County of Albany rejected an effort by the 3M Company to invalidate the New York Department of Health’s maximum contamination level (MCL) of 10 parts per trillion for certain kinds of PFAS contamination in drinking water supplies.

3M argued that the MCL was invalid because it had been enacted on insufficient science, which 3M criticized as “tantamount to a regulatory guess.” New York’s MCL is largely consistent with the regulatory limits that other states have placed on PFAS contamination, and so the court ruled in favor of the New York Department of Health and dismissed 3M’s action for lack of standing.

Standing is a legal doctrine that requires the plaintiff to be the proper party bringing the case. To demonstrate standing, the plaintiff must prove that they were injured, the injury was reasonably connected to the defendant’s conduct being challenged through the lawsuit, and that a court can redress the injury. In ruling that 3M lacked standing to challenge New York’s MCL for PFAS in drinking water supplies, the court focused on 3M’s inability to prove that it was injured by the promulgation of the MCL."