Attorney General Bonta Submits Comment Letter Supporting U.S. EPA’s Proposed Rule of Listing Nine PFAS Compounds as Hazardous Constituents

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today led a multistate coalition of 12 states in submitting a comment letter supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s proposed rule that would list nine PFAS compounds as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). By adding these PFAS to the RCRA list of hazardous constituents, the proposed rule would enable California to require corrective action for releases of these PFAS into the air, water, or soil at facilities that are regulated as Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) under RCRA. In the letter, the attorneys general strongly support this rule and urge the EPA to build upon it by undertaking a future rulemaking that lists all PFAS—or at least additional ones—under RCRA and that lists them as hazardous wastes. A hazardous waste designation would ensure more comprehensive regulatory coverage, and a listing of all PFAS compounds would account for the cumulative nature of PFAS contamination and exposures and the fact that so many compounds within the class have already been shown to pose public health risks.

“We must continue to take action to comprehensively address the pervasive threat posed by PFAS,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The EPA’s proposed rule is a crucial step that acknowledges the urgency of mitigating the risks associated with these toxic substances. We are proud to work alongside our federal partners to combat PFAS pollution and urge them to consider listing PFAS as a class and as hazardous wastes in the future to better protect public health and the environment.”

PFAS are widely used in consumer products, including food packaging, cookware, clothing, carpets, shoes, fabrics, polishes, waxes, paints, and cleaning products, as well as in firefighting foams designed to quickly smother liquid fuel fires. These so-called “forever chemicals” are stable in the environment, resistant to degradation, persistent in soil, and known to leach into groundwater. Because PFAS are not effectively excreted or metabolized in the body, and do not break down in the environment, they are also known as “forever chemicals.” Exposure to PFAS can cause adverse health impacts including developmental defects, liver, kidney, testicular, breast, pancreas, and prostate cancer, adverse pregnancy outcomes, infertility, reduced bone density in children, and impacts on the thyroid and immune system.

Specifically, the EPA’s proposed rule would do the following:  

• Add nine PFAS to the RCRA list of hazardous constituents. These nine PFAS are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO–DA or GenX), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA).
• Enable EPA and authorized states such as California to address releases of these PFAS at TSDFs through the RCRA corrective action process.
• Require permits issued by EPA or authorized states to include corrective action for all releases of listed PFAS from any solid waste management unit at the TSDFs.

In filing the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta leads the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.  

A copy of the comment letter can be found here.