The designation of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act has placed drinking water and wastewater utilities in a precarious position — potentially forcing them to bear cleanup costs for contaminants they did not create.
To address this issue, bipartisan legislation called the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act of 2025 has been introduced by Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) and Celeste Maloy (R-Utah). This bill seeks to ensure that water utilities, that legally dispose of PFAS-laden byproducts, are not unfairly held responsible for environmental remediation, shifting the burden back to
