Haynes and Boone, LLP Senior Counsel Jeff Civins talked with Bloomberg Law about the ramifications of the consent order 3M Co. reached with Alabama to determine, among other things, the health risks of associated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in the state, which could influence the EPA’s regulations for the chemicals.
Here is an excerpt:
As part of the agreement announced Friday, 3M will assess contamination of so-called forever chemicals in two Alabama counties and any additional contaminated sites identified in the future.
The company also will control emissions of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, into water and air, and determine the chemicals’ health risks and impact on the environment. It’s not clear how much the company will spend to do so.
‘Significant Research Project’
Haynes and Boone, LLP attorney Jeff Civins, who has previously represented companies facing PFAS liability, described the Alabama deal as a “significant research project” and a precedent that will affect how other states approach regulation.
Alabama, like most states, doesn’t have numerical limits on PFAS discharges, but is using a “wide spectrum of regulatory authorities” in the settlement with 3M, Civins said.
“That’s a basis for the state to argue, and other states to argue, that others are required to undertake these types of steps also,” he said.
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