Water Coalition Against PFAS Extends Support For Bipartisan Introduction of Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act

Washington, DC (February 12, 2025) – The Water Coalition Against PFAS, a coalition of drinking water and wastewater sector organizations including the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), supports today’s reintroduction of the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act. This bipartisan legislation would provide statutory liability protections for water utilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ensuring that polluters, not the public, pay for PFAS cleanup.

“The only reason water and wastewater utilities handle and dispose of PFAS is because they are cleaning up after the polluters’ environmental failures,” said Robert F. Powelson, NAWC President and CEO. “Without Congressional action to protect these utilities, the corporations who profit from the use and manufacture of these PFAS will continue to benefit.  NAWC’s members applaud the reintroduction of this bill, which would prevent polluters’ unjust attempts to shift cleanup costs to water and wastewater customers.”

Last year, EPA formally designated two of the most common PFAS — Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) — as hazardous substances under CERCLA. This puts drinking water and wastewater utilities at risk of being forced to pay a portion of environmental cleanup costs after they legally dispose of water treatment byproducts or biosolids containing the contaminants – and allowing polluters to avoid their own responsibilities. The Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act would simply shield innocent water systems from CERCLA liability when the follow all applicable laws when disposing of PFAS.

The Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act of 2025 is sponsored by Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) and Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) and is identical to bipartisan legislation introduced in the 118th Congress by now-Senator John Curtis (R-Utah).

Without this legislation, EPA’s designation of PFAS as hazardous substances under CERCLA would expose drinking water and wastewater utilities to litigation from the manufacturers of PFAS, who can unjustly include water systems as defendants in litigation to reduce their own clean-up costs. This legal loophole could increase costs on water utilities even further – costs that utilities are then forced to pass along to ratepayers. The Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act will shield water systems and their customers from the increased costs associated with litigation and potential settlements against PFAS manufacturers and users.

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