PFAS Legislation In Vermont Some of Most Aggressive In U.S.

May 11, 2021

Read the full article by John Gardella (National Law Review)

"On May 5, 2021, Vermont entered the final stages of enacting one of the most aggressive pieces of legislation related to PFAS in the country. The PFAS legislation in Vermont (S 20) was approved by the state House 145-0. Since the legislation was previously approved by the Vermont Senate, the only steps remaining before the bill is enacted into law are minor amendments to the legislation and approval and signature by the governor. A similar version of the bill was proposed in years past; however, unlike the 2021 bill, it was contentiously debate before failing to pass.

What Does the PFAS Legislation In Vermont Do?

The PFAS legislation in Vermont would impose several significant restrictions with respect to PFAS, including:

Impose restrictions on the use, manufacture, sale, and distribution of class B firefighting foam containing PFAS, unless such foams are required by federal law (the bill also prohibits the use of PFAS firefighting foam for training exercises);
Impose restrictions on the production, sale, and distribution of food packaging to which PFAS have been intentionally added;
Impose restrictions on the manufacture, sale, and distribution of residential rugs and carpets to which PFAS have been intentionally added, as well as the use of after-market treatment products that contain PFAS;
Ban the manufacture, sale and distribution of PFAS-containing ski wax, if the PFAS was intentionally added; and
Include three types of PFAS (PFHxS, PFHpA, PFNA) on the list of chemicals of high concern to children.

While many of the provisions mirror PFAS legislation in other states, the provisions related to carpets, rugs, and ski wax would be the first of their kind in the United States. Earlier versions of the bill included PFAS as a class of chemicals (which would include several thousand PFAS) to the chemicals of high concern to children; however, the current bill includes just the three types of PFAS that Vermont already regulates in its drinking water."