Showing 286-300 of 350
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Trump administration, GOP strip out PFAS standard, cleanup requirements from defense bill
News
10 Dec 2019 | Detroit Free Press
“While it’s good news that the Defense Department will finally phase out PFAS in firefighting foam and food packaging, communities desperately need Congress to tackle industrial PFAS releases into the air and water and to require DOD to clean up legacy PFAS pollution," said Scott Faber, an official with the Environmental Working Group.
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Trump administration, GOP strip out PFAS standard, cleanup requirements from defense bill
Policy
10 Dec 2019
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-MI acknowledged some key provisions were taken out, including requiring that a standard be set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration that would require intervention when it was exceeded. However, the legislation still contains key provisions to help reduce PFAS contamination, especially as it relates to military uses.
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Topic of Cancer: How PFAS threaten our water
News
10 Dec 2019 | Capital & Main
What’s more, while the persistent and mobile nature of PFAS chemicals means that no neighborhood is safe from contamination, smaller water systems—particularly those serving disadvantaged communities—face an uphill task in tackling the problem due to the higher probability of aging infrastructure and limited resources, as compared to larger utilities.
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Defense bill boosts climate resilience, ends PFAS foam use (2)
News
10 Dec 2019 | Bloomberg Environment
“The provisions for nationwide water testing and phasing out PFAS in military firefighting foam are a major milestone in the fight against PFAS,” Tom Bruton, a senior scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute, said in a statement. “Just a few years ago achieving these critical protections, especially the foam phaseout, seemed impossible.”
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Environmental group laments PFAS provisions missing from federal bill
News
9 Dec 2019 | WAMC
The annual federal defense bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, does not include certain provisions that would address PFAS water contamination. A Washington-based nonprofit group accuses Congress of caving on cleaning up the toxic substances.
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House Democrats pull key PFAS provisions from defense bill
News
6 Dec 2019 | Politico
House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) have pulled from negotiations the provisions that would force the cleanup of the chemicals PFOA and PFOS under the Superfund law and to regulate them in drinking water. The Superfund provision, in particular, had been a major source of tension as House and Senate negotiators seek to finalize a deal on the defense bill this week.
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Mark Ruffalo hopes his ‘Dark Waters’ film leads to environmental ‘revolution’
News
20 Nov 2019 | Roll Call
“Are we a country that is going to be responsive to people and make sure that our people remain healthy?” star of the upcoming film “Dark Waters,” asked a crowd gathered Tuesday on Capitol Hill. “Or are we going to be responsible only to the bottom line of corporations and their greed? Because right now the people are losing.”
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Congress close to striking landmark PFAS deal, Chairman says
News
14 Nov 2019 | Bloomberg Environment
Congress’ two chambers have largely resolved their differences over which provisions relating to “forever chemicals” should stay in an annual defense authorization bill, the House Armed Services Committee chairman said Nov. 13.
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Congress Quickly Losing Patience With EPA on PFAS
Policy
31 Oct 2019
Republicans and Democrats alike on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said the agency is moving too slowly to set minimum standards for the presence of PFAS in water.
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More than 2 dozen groups urge Wisconsin lawmakers to act on PFAS contamination
News
24 Oct 2019 | Wisconsin State Journal
The coalition is pushing for adoption of a bill known as the CLEAR Act, which would require the DNR to establish and enforce standards for at least six PFAS. Additionally, the CLEAR Act, would allow the DNR to require anyone who possesses PFAS to prove they have the financial means to clean up any potential contamination. Lawmakers are also considering a Republican-sponsored bill that would limit where firefighters and others could test or train with foam containing PFAS.
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PFAS exposure may increase risk of breast cancer
News
24 Oct 2019 | EWG News
To reduce the risk of breast cancer and other health impacts from PFAS, Congress should include in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020 provisions that would quickly phase out the use of PFAS in military firefighting foam, reduce industrial discharges of PFAS, require reporting and monitoring for PFAS in ground and surface water, and jump-start the cleanup process under Superfund.
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For PFAS, hazardous designation is not a ban
News
15 Oct 2019 | EWG News
Designating PFAS as “hazardous substances” is critical to cleaning up legacy contamination [and is different than a ban]. There are currently 761 substances on the CERCLA hazardous substances list. Almost 700 of them have been on the list since the law was passed in 1980. An EWG analysis found that at least 599, or 79 percent of these chemicals are likely still in active use in commerce today. What’s more, 339 of the CERCLA hazardous substances chemicals, or 44 percent, are not only in production, but likely produced at high volumes.
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Michigan House of Reps passes AFFF bills
News
5 Oct 2019 | Alpena News
A package of three bills that would keep better tabs on the amount of hazardous firefighting foam used in the state was passed in the state House and is headed to the Senate.
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Peters' resolution to phase out PFAS in fire fighting foam passes Senate
News
25 Sep 2019 | WKZO AM/FM
The unanimously passed resolution is calling for the final National Defense bill sent to the President to include a provision prohibiting the Department of Defense from using firefighting foams containing PFAS by the end of 2023.
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Trump threatens to veto first ever Congressional Action on ‘forever chemicals’
News
22 Sep 2019 | Truthout
President Trump has threatened to veto the National Defense Authorization Act if it contains current amendments that would protect soldiers — and surrounding communities — impacted by the U.S. military’s use of PFAS-laden firefighting foam. Congress has until early October to submit an agreed-upon, merged bill to the president.