Monitoring the legislative landscape for "forever chemicals" from the NC General Assembly to federal regulatory actions.
Data current as of 2026-09-25 · 9 items tracked
Events Timeline — September 2026
Dated policy and enforcement events, verified against primary sources. Measurements are never changed by news — each card is labeled by what it is: guidance, settlement, allegation, or correction. Detections measure occurrence; they do not establish production origin.
Claim correctioncorrected
EPA corrects PFOA/PFOS phase-out claim after information-quality complaint
Event date: 2026-09-18 · Reported: 2026-09-24 · Federal — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
After an Information Quality Act correction request, EPA removed the categorical website statement that PFOA manufacture and import had been phased out in the United States and replaced it with language acknowledging that quantities of PFOA may still be produced, imported, and used by companies. This is a correction to agency wording, not a finding about any specific facility. Detection data measures occurrence; it does not establish production origin.
EPA Information Quality Act response letter, dated September 18, 2026
EPA Office of Water rescinds 2022 PFAS NPDES permitting guidance
Event date: 2026-08-11 · Reported: 2026-09-22 · Federal — EPA Office of Water
EPA rescinded its 2022 memorandum on addressing PFAS discharges through NPDES permits, pretreatment programs, and monitoring — the guidance that pushed states and wastewater utilities to use existing Clean Water Act authorities to monitor and control industrial PFAS before it reaches waterways and drinking-water supplies. This is a withdrawal of permitting and source-control guidance, not a repeal of the 4 ppt PFOA/PFOS drinking-water standards. Measured drinking-water occurrence values are unchanged; the change shifts the source-control burden toward state action.
Office of Water memorandum dated August 11, 2026; publicly reported September 22, 2026
North Carolina announces $590 million PFAS settlement with DuPont and Chemours
Event date: 2026-09-10 · North Carolina — DEQ and Attorney General
North Carolina announced a $590 million settlement over PFAS contamination tied to the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant — the largest environmental-damages recovery in state history. The structure: $455 million in guaranteed direct payments over 10–15 years ($380 million to 11 local governments, $75 million to the state) plus a $135 million reserve from DuPont and Corteva to support Chemours' existing 2019 consent-order obligations. Dollar amounts are a financial agreement, not a contamination measurement or a cleanup-completion metric; payment schedules and deliverables should be tracked separately.
NC DEQ / Attorney General press release, September 10, 2026
SELC, for Cape Fear River Watch, alleges ongoing Chemours consent-order violations
Event date: 2026-09-23 · North Carolina
SELC notified Chemours of alleged violations of the 2019 Consent Order and 2020 Addendum, including air emissions, groundwater contamination, and continuing PFAS loading to nearby waters — alleging failure to achieve a required 75% reduction in PFAS reaching Willis Creek, Georgia Branch, Old Outfall 002, and the Cape Fear River. The notice argues the 17-compound compliance approach omits ultra-short-chain PFAS detected in finished downstream drinking water. These are allegations, not adjudicated findings; the groups say they may return to court if the alleged violations are not addressed.
Notice issued by SELC on behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, September 23, 2026. Allegations have not been adjudicated.
'PFAS Free NC' — would ban knowingly manufacturing, using, or distributing PFAS or PFAS-containing products in North Carolina (except federally required uses), with DEQ civil penalties of $5,000–$25,000 per violation. Also directs NPDES discharge disclosures for PFAS and 1,4-dioxane and technology-based permit limits. The most sweeping PFAS bill filed in the 2025 session; stalled in Rules.
Last action · 2025-04-09: Filed; referred to House Rules, Calendar, and Operations — no floor action
'PFAS Pollution and Polluter Liability' — authorizes the DEQ Secretary to order PFAS manufacturers to pay drinking-water cleanup costs for post-January-2017 discharges and to sue noncompliant firms in superior court. Utilities reimbursed by polluters must refund ratepayers. Bipartisan sponsorship; the legislature's main 'polluter pays' vehicle.
Last action · 2025-03-27: Passed House Agriculture & Environment committee; referred to House Appropriations
'Responsible Firefighting Foam Management Act' — prohibits discharge of PFAS-containing Class B firefighting foam for training, practice, or testing (except legally required testing with containment). Builds on the 2019/2021 AFFF inventory and disposal program run with the NC Collaboratory.
Last action · 2025-04-01: Filed; referred to House Rules — no floor action
'2026 Water Safety Act' — would create an Emerging Contaminant Mitigation Fund (PFAS + 1,4-dioxane): $56M recurring for local water/wastewater grants, $14M for NC Collaboratory research, plus firefighter-protection funding. The standalone bill stalled, but the 2026 state budget enacted a version of the fund.
Last action · 2026-04-30: Filed; referred to Senate Rules — no floor action (fund concept enacted separately via 2026 budget)
Exempts menstruation products certified PFAS-free by the Department of Commerce from state sales tax and creates a PFAS product-certification program. A novel product-focused PFAS bill from the 2026 short session; stalled in Rules.
Last action · 2026-05-04: Filed; referred to House Rules — no floor action
$45M to DEQ for the new Emerging Contaminant Fund (grants to local water systems), $15M to the NC Collaboratory for PFAS remediation at fire stations, $10.2M to the Bernard Allen Emergency Drinking Water Fund for private-well owners, $7M for Collaboratory PFAS research, $3M for DEQ PFAS staffing. A controversial rider makes new Collaboratory studies confidential and exempts its staff from public-records requests — flagged by Clean Cape Fear and SELC.
Last action · 2026-07-07: Enacted — signed by Governor Josh Stein
EMC PFAS monitoring & minimization rules: industrial dischargers and municipal treatment plants must do baseline PFAS sampling for PFOA, PFOS, and GenX within 60 days, test quarterly for a year, then develop minimization plans. Criticized by SELC as industry-weakened — no numeric discharge limits, after DEQ's stronger 2022 standards proposal was tabled.
Last action · 2026-04-23: EMC voted 10–3 to send to public comment (Jan 2026); hearings Apr 2026; pending adoption
Companion EMC rule covering 1,4-dioxane — the Cape Fear's other signature contaminant — with the same monitor-then-minimize structure. Same status and same criticisms as the PFAS package.
Last action · 2026-04-23: Proposed alongside PFAS rules; pending adoption
North Carolina incorporated EPA's 2024 federal PFAS drinking-water rule by reference, so community and non-transient non-community water systems must complete initial PFOA/PFOS/GenX/PFHxS/PFNA sampling by April 2027. This is the rule driving utility compliance timelines statewide.
Last action · 2026-09-25: In effect — initial monitoring results due to the state April 26, 2027
Federal PFAS regulation is in a holding pattern with sharp edges: the 2024 drinking-water standards stand but face rescission proposals for four compounds and a possible PFOA/PFOS extension to 2031; the CERCLA designation survived court challenge; TSCA reporting still hasn't opened; and the EU's near-total ban is one opinion away from a Commission decision.
US EPA · 2026-05-20 · Proposed — comment closed Jul 20, 2026; awaiting final rules
Two proposals scaling back the 2024 drinking-water rule: rescinding MCLs for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture on procedural grounds, and letting qualifying systems extend PFOA/PFOS compliance from April 2029 to April 2031. The 4 ppt PFOA/PFOS limits stand; standards remain in force during litigation.
D.C. Circuit · 2026-01-21 · Ongoing — merits briefing proceeded through early 2026
Water-utility groups (AWWA/AMWA) and industry (NAM/ACC) challenge the 2024 drinking-water rule on Safe Drinking Water Act procedure and cost-benefit grounds. The court's refusal to summarily vacate keeps all six-compound standards fully in force while the case proceeds.
US EPA (TSCA) · 2026-04-09 · Delayed — reporting window now opens Jan 31, 2027 at earliest
The one-time TSCA §8(a)(7) reporting rule (all PFAS manufactured/imported 2011–2022) still has not opened — third delay, citing thousands of public comments and reporting-software development. A 2025 proposal would add exemptions (0.1% de minimis, imported articles, byproducts), potentially narrowing scope significantly.
In Chamber of Commerce v. EPA, the court rejected industry challenges to the 2024 CERCLA hazardous-substance designation for PFOA and PFOS, affirming EPA's 'substantial danger' finding. Preserves EPA cleanup-order authority and unlocks federal/state/private cost-recovery litigation; detection alone does not trigger liability.
US EPA (EPCRA TRI) · 2026-02-01 · Final — tracking began Jan 1, 2026; first reports due Jul 1, 2027
Sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate becomes the 206th PFAS on the Toxics Release Inventory; covered facilities must track releases at the 100-lb threshold as a chemical of special concern. Continues Congress's 2020 NDAA mandate of automatic annual PFAS additions.
European Union (ECHA) · 2026-03-03 · RAC opinion adopted; SEAC final expected end of 2026 — not yet law
The 2023 five-country proposal for a near-total PFAS ban under REACH cleared its scientific risk assessment and is in final socio-economic review. Separately, a PFHxA restriction takes effect October 10, 2026 for specified uses including food-contact packaging.
US Congress · 2026-03-19 · Introduced — no committee action reported
Would create a federal 'essential use' framework for PFAS — uses allowed only if critical to health/safety/society with no safer alternative — plus a manufacturing phase-out program with 10-year phaseout plans and public reporting. Signals continued congressional momentum but faces long odds.
Regulatory Gap Alert
Identify regions where contamination detections exist without corresponding legislative protections.