In an article by the Wisconsin Examiner, legal experts cited the myriad of ways the Supreme Court ruling on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned the Chevron deference, will likely harm future PFAS litigation. The decision came just days after a group of utilities and chemical companies filed three lawsuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals over the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA’s new PFAS requirements. Only in April did the EPA finally establish some standards for four mixtures of perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) after years of advocacy.
In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), Evan Feinauer, staff attorney for Clean Wisconsin, said:
“If you care about having water that doesn’t have lead in it, if you care about having water that doesn’t have PFAS in it, if you care about doing something about climate change, if you care about having vehicles that don’t spew pollution, if you care about not breathing ozone (pollution) every day, this should concern you and scare you greatly.”
By reducing the regulatory authority of federal agencies, this puts more deciding power in the hands of individual judges. According to law professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Steph Tai, this puts a burden on the federal judiciary and will also make the process more costly. Tai said to the Wisconsin Examiner that the former process of filing to an appellate court was cheaper, as groups didn’t need to cover expenses like expert witnesses because of how federal agencies like the EPA were essentially “deferred” to. How this will impact each Great Lakes state has also been written about by the Minnesota Public Radio News and Planet Detroit.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers visited a water treatment center in Eau Claire to urge Republican lawmakers to release the $125 million set aside to fight PFAS. The water treatment center plans to break ground next month on a proposed “forever chemicals” removal facility. This comes after half the city’s wells shut down in 2021 due to chemical contamination. According to a recent report earlier this year, two spills within four months now need to be remediated due to firefighting foam used at the La Crosse Regional Airport. Additionally, a recent study of lakes and rivers around Wisconsin says there are higher concentrations of PFAS in the “sunlight zone” or surface layer rather than in the layers below.
A new bill in Pennsylvania plans to ban PFAS from a wide range of products, like food packaging and cleaning supplies. By 2029, it also plans to phase out the sale of outdoor apparel. However, there will be some exemptions, like for medical devices.
Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) just announced that it will award $12.6 million in MI Clean Water grants. These grants will help to update aging infrastructure, including the remediation of emerging contaminants (like PFAS).
More PFAS news, in case you missed it:
- A new study out of Texas Tech University says lithium-ion batters (often used for “green” infrastructure) are a growing source of PFAS pollution. This also means electric vehicles, which use lithium-ion batteries, contribute to contamination.
- According to Tom Perkins at The Guardian, new research finally proves how easily PFAS is absorbed through the skin, demonstrating how clothing, furniture, and cosmetic products that use “forever chemicals” are hazardous to human health.
- In an interview with the chief executive of water company Veolia, Estelle Brachlianoff, she stated how PFAS removal in the U.S. has been a significant financial opportunity for the French company.
- An EPA-funded study found that landfills are much higher sources of PFAS pollution than previously thought. Researchers detected “unexpectedly high levels of PFAS” in landfill gas at concentrations similar (or higher) to the liquid leachate.
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
Featured image: The former Wurtsmith Air Force base in Oscoda, Michigan is responsible for PFAS in groundwater in nearby communities. (Great Lakes Now Episode 1025)
