Delgado's Bipartisan Legislation to Add PFAS to Toxics Release Inventory Passes Energy and Commerce Subcommittee

Press Release

This morning, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change passed bipartisan PFAS legislation sponsored by Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19). Rep. Delgado's PFAS Right-to-Know Act and would require per-and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) to be listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The PFAS Right-to-Know Act would require certain manufacturers, processors, and producers to report their usage of PFAS chemicals to the EPA, which would then be publicly available in accordance with the Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act.

"Our upstate communities of Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh continue to live with the effects of PFAS contamination, and we must understand where these chemicals are being used to identify potentially contaminated sites, hold emitters accountable, and protect our drinking water." Delgado continued, "I am pleased to see the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment advance this bipartisan legislation that will take important steps to ensure all Americans are protected from these harmful chemicals, and I will continue to fight to bring this legislation to the House floor for a vote."

Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA Act) created the Toxics Release Inventory Program at the EPA. This inventory tracks the use and management of toxic chemicals capable of threatening human health and the environment. Facilities in various industry sectors are required to report annually how much of each chemical included in the inventory is being released to the environment. This reporting system supports informed decision-making by companies, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public. H.R. 2577, The PFAS Right-To-Know Act would create a 34th chemical class that industrial facilities with over 10 employees who exceed a certain threshold of PFAS yearly, would need to report to the EPA.

Delgado has made addressing PFAS contamination in NY-19 an urgent priority in Congress. Earlier this year, Delgado urged the EPA to set maximum contaminant levels for PFAS chemicals as well as enact additional provisions to address water contamination in Upstate New York and across the country. Instead of setting these maximum contaminant levels, the EPA only announced plans to begin doing so by the end of the year. Last week, Congressman Delgado reiterated these requests of the EPA to set a Maximum Contaminate Level for PFAS chemicals at Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and introduced Michael Hickey -- a community leader who brought to light the water contamination crisis in Hoosick Falls -- as he testified before the committee.

Delgado is a founding member of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force and a cosponsor of the bipartisan PFAS Action Act that would designate all PFAS chemicals under the Superfund program because they pose serious risks to human health and the environment.

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