Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand reintroduces bills with new protections, controls for 'forever chemicals'

WASHINGTON — Individuals with exposure to so-called "forever chemicals" contamination would be able to sue manufacturers for the costs of ongoing medical monitoring, under a bill reintroduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and others.

A related bill also reintroduced by New York’s junior Democratic senator and others would increase water and other standards for those targeted polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. And as much as $1 billion overall would go to help community or publicly owned water treatment works to upgrade and address such contamination through 2030.

These issues are significant on Long Island, where industrial activity led to high PFAS levels in the sole source aquifer. By way of drinking water and other means, these chemicals can build up in the body and are tied to a range of health issues, including cancer and liver damage. Long Island has long had high breast cancer rates.

"It is unacceptable that toxic PFAS chemicals are infiltrating our waterways in New York and across the country," Gillibrand said in a statement, announcing the bill reintroductions. "Protecting the health and safety of our communities requires addressing the scourge of PFAS contaminants in our drinking water, food, and environment."

But both of the Gillibrand bills failed to win approval in the 2023-24 session.

Adding to the challenge now is that the Trump administration — and congressional Republicans — have been hard to read on their intentions on how to address PFAS contamination, and how quickly.

Former Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, as President Donald Trump’s administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has announced intentions to roll back Biden administration-set deadlines by two years, to 2031, for water utilities and public water systems to comply with new federal water standards for PFAS.

And though not directly related, on Thursday a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee held a hearing on proposals to shield some businesses and corporations from liability tied to PFAS contaminates. The idea is that those businesses and corporations may have acquired the contaminates by being downstream recipients from the source.

Still, Gillibrand sees some daylight in other potential actions that Zeldin and the EPA have signaled or mulled. Those include the idea of establishing "ELG" rules — or effluent limitation guidelines — setting tech-based standards for industrial wastewater to prevent contamination before it starts, ensuring cleaner discharges from the original sources.

That aim mirrors to some degree the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act, led in the Senate by Gillibrand and in the House by Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). 

The second bill, "The PFAS Accountability Act," led in the House by Rep. Madeleine Dean, (D-Pa.) would allow courts to award medical monitoring for PFAS contamination victims to prevent premature morbidity, disability, or mortality. The legislation would also ensure victims of significant PFAS exposure can bring civil claims against manufacturers of PFAS.

Environmental groups applauded the reintroductions.

"PFAS exposure has been linked to a number of long-term health issues including cancer, reproductive harm, immune system harm, vaccine efficacy and more," Jessica Hernandez, legislative director for Environmental Working Group said in a statement. "These PFAS-related chronic diseases develop over time, which is why medical monitoring is critical to securing justice for victims of PFAS pollution."
Asked to comment on the two bills, an EPA spokesman issued a statement that the agency is building on action during the first Trump administration to tackle PFAS issues, from advancing research and testing, stopping PFAS from getting into drinking water systems, holding polluters accountable, and more."