Pace® PFAS News & Views – January 2026
- By: Sara Peterson
- Tags: Pace® PFAS News and Views, PFAS
Despite the busy holiday season, December brought a plethora of PFAS actions—some reinforcing long-term trends; others hinting at where attention may shift in the new year. In this month’s PFAS News and Views, we take a closer look at the latest developments and what they could mean for environmental professionals heading into 2026.
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FEDERAL ACTIONS
2026 National Defense Authorization Act Signed into Law
The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law on December 18, 2025, after passing both chambers of Congress by wide margins. As with every NDAA since 2020, several sections were devoted to PFAS-related topics:
- Section 311 requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide more detailed, publicly accessible information about cleanup status and plans by location.
- Section 322 directs the DOD to accelerate PFAS investigation and remediation at contaminated military and former military sites.
- Section 315 updates phaseout language for aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) and extends the deadline for the DOD to stop using AFFF at military installations from October 1, 2023, to October 1, 2026. This section also tightens the contamination threshold from “in excess of one part per billion” to any “detectable” level of certain fluorinated substances.
- Section 316 tightens the ban on buying firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) with PFAS by replacing the “no intentionally added PFAS” test with a performance- and content-based standard tied to the latestNational Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1970 standard.
- Section 317 requires the DOD to provide alternative drinking water (such as bottled water, filtration systems, or connection to public systems) to households whose private wells are contaminated with PFOS and PFOA from DOD activities, and to coordinate these efforts with existing cleanup authorities under CERCLA and related environmental laws.
UCMR 5 Sampling Ends
It’s hard to believe, but sampling under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) came to an end for the thousands of public water systems that were required to analyze drinking water samples for 29 PFAS plus lithium from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2025. We anticipate that the EPA’s UCMR 5 data finder will be updated to include the final round of results sometime in mid- to late-January. If you prefer a more graphical view, USA Today has produced a mapping tool that also allows users to drill down on specific water systems.
EPA Clarifies Guidance for Brownfield Grant Recipients
In December 2025, the EPA updated its FAQ page on what the designation of PFOA and PFOS as Hazardous Substances means for Brownfield grant recipients. The new details include requiring Brownfield grant recipients to first demonstrate they are not potentially liable under CERCLA for PFAS contamination at their sites before using federal funds for assessment or cleanup. To qualify for CERCLA liability protections, applicants must comply with EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiries rule at 40 C.F.R. Part 312, which requires Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) to evaluate conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of PFOA and PFOS, along with other hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants.
PFAS Bills Introduced in Congress
Congressional lawmakers introduced several PFAS-related bills last month, with most of the activity happening on December 11th. Several of these bills are reintroductions of legislation from past sessions. Here are the highlights:
- Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act (R. 6476 / S. 3353) – Reintroduced on December 4, 2025, this bill authorizes grants to states to assist PFAS-impacted farmers, support testing and monitoring, fund remediation, and create a USDA task force to coordinate PFAS-related assistance programs.
- PFAS Research and Development Reauthorization Act (R. 6667) – Reintroduced December 11, 2025, H.R. 6667 extends the authorization of appropriations for federal PFAS research and development activities.
- Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act (R. 6668 / S. 3457) – Also announced December 11, 2025, this bicameral bill would require the U.S. EPA to develop PFAS water quality criteria and effluent limitation guidelines for multiple industry sectors and provide federal support for municipal water infrastructure upgrades.
- No Taxation on PFAS Remediation Act (R. 6669) – Introduced December 11, 2025, this bill would exempt from federal income taxes certain reimbursements or rebates individuals receive to clean up PFAS contamination where there is no municipal water service.
- PFAS Accountability Act (R. 6626 / S. 3460) – Reintroduced December 11, 2025, this bicameral bill would amend TSCA to create a federal cause of action for PFAS exposure and allow courts to award medical monitoring for affected individuals.
FDA Releases Additional Info on PFAS in Food Supply
On December 19, the FDA announced testing results from six additional Total Diet Study (TDS) regional collections, reporting that 92.8% of 542 food samples had no PFAS detections, and 7.2% showed only trace levels. The FDA continues expanding its methods to measure up to 30 PFAS across a wide range of food categories and has now tested more than 1,900 samples. Overall, PFAS have not been detected in 95% of the 1,352 fresh and processed foods tested since 2019. To learn more about analyzing PFAS in food, watch our webinar: Navigating the Complexities of Testing PFAS in Plant and Animal Tissue.
FDA Releases Report on PFAS Safety in Cosmetics
As required under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, the FDA released its report on the safety of PFAS in cosmetics on December 29, 2025. The agency examined 51 PFAS used in 1,744 cosmetic formulations, closely evaluating the 25 most frequently used PFAS that constitute about 95% of intentionally added PFAS in cosmetics. Ultimately, the agency concluded that five compounds appeared to present low-level safety concerns and one showed a potential safety concern with significant remaining uncertainty, but that there is still insufficient toxicological data to determine the overall safety of most of the PFAS evaluated.
EPA Releases Single Fluorinated Pesticide FAQs
In response to significant attention to its approval of several single-fluorinated compounds in pesticides, the EPA created a webpage, clarifying how the agency views and regulates these compounds in pesticides. The page explains why the EPA does not consider these chemistries to be PFAS, describes in general terms how they fit within existing pesticide risk-assessment and registration frameworks, and includes responses to common questions and concerns from stakeholders and the public.
Comment Period for TSC Reporting Changes Closes
In December, attorneys general from 15 states formally opposed the U.S. EPA’s proposed revisions to its TSCA Section 8(a)(7) PFAS Data Reporting Rule, warning that the new exemptions could “gut” the rule by dramatically reducing the number of reporting entities and undermining EPA’s ability to understand PFAS uses and exposures. Public comments were due by December 29, and a final rule is expected this summer.
KEY STATE ACTIONS
Michigan
A new interactive state map from Michigan’s PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) shows specific lakes and rivers where fish have tested above health-based screening values for PFOS. The tool highlights waterbodies with existing “do not eat” or limited-consumption advisories. Pop-ups provide more detailed guidance from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on which species are impacted.
New York
In December, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) rolled out one of the country’s most aggressive PFAS response packages, signaling that “forever chemicals” are now a top-tier environmental priority for the state. Here are just some of the items contained in the release:
- A dedicated PFAS webpage designed to be a one-stop source for PFAS policies and actions in the state
- A ten-year “A Decade of Progress on PFAS” report that documents how the state is classifying PFOA/PFOS as hazardous substances, restricting PFAS in products, and forcing polluters into more stringent remediation
- A rural background soil study showing PFOS in more than 97% of sampled rural surface soils and PFOA in about 76.5%, confirming that PFAS contamination is widespread, even when located far from obvious industrial sources
- New technical guidance for publicly owned wastewater treatment plants (POTWs) to tighten PFAS monitoring and identify upstream industrial sources
- A draft biosolids and soil-product policy that would require all compost and soil amendments made with biosolids—whether produced in New York or imported—to be sampled for PFAS using updated methods, with results posted publicly
- A draft policy outlining when the state will step in to provide alternative water to private well owners hit by PFAS contamination.
New Jersey
Two PFAS-related bills were passed by both chambers of the New Jersey state legislature as of December 22, 2025, and sent to the Governor for signature:
The Protecting Against Forever Chemicals Act (S1042) seeks to ban intentionally added PFAS in cosmetics, carpets, fabric treatments, and paper-based food packaging, beginning two years after enactment. The law would also require PFAS-containing cookware to carry clear labeling, and direct $5 million to PFAS monitoring, education, and source-reduction programs.
A5537 grants fire departments an additional one-year extension (until January 1, 2027) to continue using class B firefighting foam containing intentionally added PFAS. The bill also provides a $500,000 appropriation to the Department of Environmental Protection to support grants reimbursing municipalities for the costs of purchasing PFAS-free replacement foams.
Florida
Two PFAS-related bills were introduced in the Florida state legislature in mid-December:
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (H.B. 855) would ratify state environmental rules establishing cleanup target levels for PFAS compounds, authorize the Department of Environmental Protection to update statewide PFAS cleanup standards (subject to later legislative ratification), create liability protections and a prospective purchaser program tied to PFAS-contaminated sites, and restrict the use of certain class B firefighting foams containing PFAS.
Local Regulation of Drinking Straws and Stirrers (S.958) focuses on regulating how local governments may restrict or require particular drinking straw materials. PFAS content is cited as one of the justifications for the restriction.
Connecticut
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) issued a December 2025 order, implementing the state’s PFAS-in-products law by creating standardized phrases that manufacturers must use on labels and online to disclose when a product contains intentionally added PFAS. The order applies to numerous consumer product categories covered by Connecticut’s PFAS statute, including new apparel, carpets and rugs, cookware, cleaning products, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, juvenile products, menstrual products, textile furnishings, ski wax, and upholstered furniture. Effective July 1, 2026, the law will be superseded by a full ban on the sale of these products starting January 1, 2028.
OF INTEREST
Highlights from the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) December meeting
Tracking forever chemicals across food web shows not all isomers are distributed equally
What the Regulated Community Should Know about the Draft Revisions to the WOTUS Rule
France Bans PFAS in Clothing, Cosmetics, Non-Stick Cookware, and More
EVENTS
If you are in the area or attending one of these upcoming events, we would love to meet with you. Contact us to request a meeting.
Evergreen Rural Water Association of Washington (ERWoW) Annual Conference, Ridgefield, WA, February 10-12, 2026
Illinois Rural Water Association Conference, Effingham, IL, February 17-19, 2026
WEBINARS
Be Ready for Whatever Comes Next
As 2026 gets underway, we anticipate that PFAS policy and the science of testing will continue to move quickly, with implications that cut across drinking water, wastewater, solid waste, product stewardship, remediation, destruction and more. The Pace® team will continue to track these developments and share our thoughts on the practical implications for utilities, industry, and regulators. In the meantime, if you have questions about how any of the actions highlighted in this month’s update could affect your PFAS monitoring, treatment, or compliance strategy, please contact us or visit PFAS.com for additional resources and upcoming learning opportunities.