Kids are headed back to school, and the days are getting shorter, but the news surrounding PFAS and emerging contaminants hasn’t slowed down one bit. The most significant is the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold the designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances for the Superfund program. This designation was first announced by EPA in 2024, but uncertainty about whether it would survive the challenge by industry and water utilities left its future up in the air. With this ruling, any entity that releases PFOA or PFOS above the minimum threshold would be subject to reporting and potentially cleanup costs associated with the release.
There are other implications for this rule for federal properties and Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments not to mention guiding state policy, but one of the controversies that has not been resolved is regarding what are known as “Passive Receivers.” These are entities which did not produce or use PFAS as part of their processes but could be still subject to this rule. These include wastewater treatment plants, landfills, farmers, airports, and anyone else who unknowingly has received large quantities of PFAS as part of their processes or business. The EPA issued an enforcement discretion letter at the same time as the initial rule announcement for these groups, but there has been no additional protection or assurance provided to these “passive receivers” since many deem this to be inadequate protection against liability. More to come on this issue in the future.
At SGS, we provide the most comprehensive set of tools and services for assessing PFAS in the industry. With 10 PFAS laboratories across North America and the ability to measure in water, soil, air, serum, products, food, AFFF, or just about anything else you can imagine, SGS has you covered.
For more information on how these updates impact you, contact our experts today.
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SGS Updates
Our expert Bharat Chandramouli, Product Director SGS NAM, will join Waters and PromoChrom on September 22 for “PFAS Analysis in Practice”, a one-hour webinar exploring practical perspectives on PFAS work in commercial and academic laboratory environments, including practical considerations around method implementation, trace-level analysis, matrix effects, contamination control, and data review.
Date: September 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
Click here to register.
US Policy News
Court upholds hazardous substances designation for PFOA, PFOS under CERCLA
On Aug. 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) designation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund.
This memorandum includes draft guidance that, if finalized, would provide recommendations that may be helpful to operators of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and related facilities, landowners and farmers, state and Tribal water agencies, and the public. It provides voluntary recommendations for potential ways to mitigate risks from PFOA and PFOS when managing sewage sludge and biosolids.
US News by State
National
The Race to Replace a Salmon-Killing Tire Chemical
Alternatives to 6PPD, a critical antiozone agent for rubber, are emerging, but will they be ready soon? In 2024, when the US Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) consortium submitted its preliminary alternatives analysis report, the consortium had whittled its list down to seven promising alternatives that warranted further study.
Since then, following the identification of additional potential alternatives, the consortium has expanded the number of compounds it is evaluating from 7 to 24. Its next report is due to the state of California in October.
Local News
New Jersey
Federal Court Approves Historic PFAS Settlements Valued at Approximately $2.5 Billion
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak announced judicial approval of two groundbreaking settlements to remedy long-standing statewide contamination from PFAS and other pollutants originating from four significant industrial sites. The settlements resolve the State’s claims in years-long litigation against E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. (now known as EIDP, Inc.) and other DuPont-related entities, and separate litigation against 3M.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire has received a payment from 3M Company as part of a settlement resolving claims by public drinking water providers affected by PFAS contamination. The payment brings New Hampshire’s total recovery from four PFAS-related settlements to more than $43 million, with additional payments expected to continue through at least 2033.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) addressed in an August 12th decision a Petition for Review by the Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) of Region 1’s renewal of a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit for the City of Manchester, New Hampshire.
The NPDES Permit renewal authorizes discharge from a wastewater treatment facility to the Merrimack River.
Indiana
Forever chemicals’ are on Indiana’s farmlands. Here’s how they got there
Sewage sludge may not sound like anything useful, but farmers in Indiana, and across the U.S., use it as a cost-effective form of fertilizer on their fields.
The sludge, typically collected and dried at wastewater treatment plants, is known as biosolids when used for agricultural purposes, and is regulated in Indiana under a set of permits meant to protect public health and the natural environment. Indiana places safeguards on where the sludge can be applied and what crops are suitable for its use, as well as limits on the concentrations of certain pollutants contained in the product.
One notable omission of safeguards, however, are what environmental advocates call “forever chemicals”.
Global
PFAS in pet food: tracing exposure in dogs and cats
Researchers in Japan find fish-based ingredients may contribute to long-chain PFAS levels in cats’ blood serum, according to two linked studies. PFAS were widely detected across the products tested. Fish-based foods tended to contain higher levels of PFOS and long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids such as PFUnDA and PFTrDA, compounds known to accumulate in aquatic food webs. An emerging PFAS compound, 9Cl-PF3ONS, was also detected in some products.