Congresswomen introduce bipartisan PFAS Liability Protection Act

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, has joined with Utah Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy to introduce the bipartisan Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act.

According to a news release, the legislation would help ensure that water utilities and ratepayers are protected if manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — a group of chemicals used in consumer products since the 1940s that can be harmful to human health — try to “dilute their liability” for PFAS found in public drinking water systems.

“PFAS chemicals harm our health and kids’ development, and water utilities are working hard to treat and dispose of these substances,” Perez stated in the news release. “Our bipartisan bill will prevent water utilities and ratepayers from bearing the brunt of PFAS cleanup costs, which would disproportionately harm small and rural communities — and instead help ensure the companies that produced the chemicals are accountable, not our ratepayers.”

In April 2024, Camas officials approved a $1.61 million contract with an environmental engineering firm to help address PFAS found in the city’s drinking water supply.

The synthetic, manufactured chemicals were widely used in common household items such as nonstick cookware, glass and surface cleaners, fabrics, floor polishes, paints, carpeting and water-resistant clothing and used to be common in firefighting foam.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS are linked to a host of health risks, including increased cholesterol and obesity rates, hormone disruption, reduced vaccine response, decreased fertility, increased blood pressure during pregnancy, developmental delays in children and an increased risk of prostate, kidney and testicular cancers.

“They are extremely persistent in the environment,” Camas Public Works Director Steve Wall told city officials in 2024. “And they’re not easy to get rid of. They don’t degrade … so we’re trying to catch up with something that has been in (our environment) for 70 to 80 years.”

Camas was one of the first Washington cities to test its drinking water system for PFAS and, in 2022 and 2023, found PFAS levels that exceeded the state’s 15 parts per trillion (PPT) limit in Well 13 near Louis Bloch Park in downtown Camas.

The city now notifies water customers when Well 13’s levels exceeded the state’s action limit and does not use the well during months with low water demands.

Camas tests its water system for PFAS on a quarterly basis, and has found elevated PFAS levels in Well 13 when the well is back online during high water-demand months.

In 2023, the city of Camas joined a nationwide lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers.

In the news release announcing Perez’ proposed PFAS legislation, John Peterson, the executive director of the Discovery Clean Water Alliance, said his group backs the bipartisan bill.

“We support this legislation, which will take a meaningful step in protecting water utilities, who are passive receivers of PFAS, from financial and legal liabilities associated with decades of use of these chemicals in manufacturing and consumer products,” Peterson stated, adding that PFAS has become “the environmental challenge of our time.”