WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is fighting to deliver certainty to the agriculture community as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking threatens the industry.
In August 2022, the EPA proposed a rule to designate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) which would subject any entity with PFAS contamination to potential CERCLA liability from the EPA and third parties.
We must “protect farmers, ranchers and water utilities not directly responsible for PFAS contamination from being potentially held liable by the EPA or subject to sweeping private legal action that could wreak havoc on their ability to operate,” Boozman said in a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing Thursday.
Boozman is working to ensure farmers, ranchers and rural communities are not held liable under EPA’s misguided rulemaking.
In May, Boozman joined a package of legislative initiatives spearheaded by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) to protect industries and municipalities from liability claims if the EPA designated PFAS compounds as hazardous substances. The covered entities in the bills either do not contribute to PFAS contamination or are required to use PFAS-containing substances through regulations.
