TO THE MEMBERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes H.R. 2467, the “PFAS Action Act,” which would likely complicate and delay cleanup at contaminated sites. The Chamber will consider including votes on this legislation in our “How They Voted” scorecard.
H.R. 2467 would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate certain PFAS substances as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The litigation-heavy CERCLA process is not an effective policy tool to accelerate the cleanup of PFAS chemistries. This spring, the Chamber, along with our coalition partners, strongly recommended that the EPA move forward with establishing national standards and regulations for PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act. We also ask the EPA to then conduct a gap analysis to ascertain what, if any, contamination issues cannot be addressed using existing authorities.
As the Chamber and coalition partners noted to the EPA, designation of PFAS under CERCLA threatens to disrupt cleanup being conducted by states and subject the cleanup of other sites to lengthy litigation. Further, effective remediation calls for a risk-based, adaptive approach that not only promotes faster and more cost-effective cleanups but provides more immediate protections for human health and the environment. Cleanup should therefore focus on the exposure pathways at issue, specifically in drinking water. This approach is largely incompatible with the CERCLA process.
We strongly oppose the PFAS Action Act and ask that you vote against this bill. We stand ready to engage on a better way to move forward on this issue.
Sincerely,
Jack Howard
Senior Vice President
Government Affairs
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
