Chamber Statement on CERCLA Designation of PFOA and PFOS

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Chuck Chaitovitz, Vice President of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today released the following statement following EPA's final rule on the CERCLA hazardous substance designation of PFOA and PFOS:

"It is troubling that the EPA selected an approach to the cleanup of legacy PFOA and PFOS that is less effective than other approaches available to the agency. Rather than prioritizing our shared goal of the expeditious cleanup of these chemicals, the use of a CERCLA designation appears to prioritize creating new opportunities for litigation. Local governments, landowners, and businesses will now likely have to devote resources that could have been used to improve our environment to fighting frivolous litigation. We call on EPA to revisit this designation and work on a more logical, durable approach."

The Chamber outlined other approaches available to the EPA in this report and legal concerns with the CERCLA designation in its comments on the proposed rule.