As we near the end of the current legislative session, three PFAS-related bills continue to move forward.
AB 2560 (Bill Quirk) Water quality: notification and response levels: procedures
Establishes a transparent public process for the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) to use when establishing a Notification Level (NL) and Response Level (RL). The bill requires the State Board to notify the public on their website when a NL or RL is being developed or changed, and then again when a proposed NL or RL is available. AB 2560 requires the study or studies used as a base to develop the NL or RL to be made public, if they are disclosable under the Public Records Act. Additionally, the Board must disclose whether the study or studies were peer reviewed and whether only one study was relied upon. The bill requires notice and document availability at least 30 days before the informational item being placed on the State Board’s agenda. However, if the Division of Drinking Water finds that there is a potential for imminent harm to public health then the procedures may be bypassed, but an informational item of the NL and RL changes must be provided within 45 days at a regularly noticed meeting of the State Board.
SB 1044 (Allen): Firefighting equipment and foam:
PFAS chemicals.
SB 1044 prohibits the manufacturing, sale and use of firefighting foam that contains PFAS, unless an exemption is granted, by January 1, 2022.
AB 2762, Muratsuchi. Cosmetic products: safety.
This bill would prohibit the manufacturing and sale of any cosmetic product that contains PFAS by 2025 (and a list of several other compounds that are also prohibited by the European Union.)