Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act of 2026
Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act of 2026 This bill phases out the release and nonessential use of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and addresses PFAS research, remediation, regulation, and enforcement. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must require each manufacturer and user of PFAS to submit annual reports that include specified information about the essential (e.g., critical for health or safety reasons) and nonessential uses of PFAS by such entities. Not later than 10 years after the enactment of this bill, manufacturers and users must fully phase out nonessential uses of PFAS. The bill also establishes specified deadlines to phase out the sale of certain products containing PFAS; requires federal agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, to eliminate the procurement of products known to contain PFAS; imposes a 10-year phaseout of the release of PFAS above a certain threshold of detection; provides enforcement authority to the EPA regarding violations of the requirements of the bill, including through civil and criminal penalties; allows citizen suits against manufacturers and users of PFAS and the EPA; and addresses actions under state law related to damages from exposure to hazardous substances, including with regard to statutes of repose. The bill exempts from a bankruptcy petition’s automatic stay any proceeding against a non-debtor entity (e.g., a proceeding to obtain property from a non-debtor) with respect to a PBT claim (a claim relating to persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals) against the non-debtor entity, the debtor, or the estate.
The provisions, in plain language.
Directs the EPA to enter a 10-year agreement with the National Academies (or a comparable independent scientific organization) to study which uses of PFAS 'forever chemicals' are essential, set criteria for that judgment, recommend which nonessential uses to phase out first, and report to the EPA and Congress, with the first report due within 1 year and updates at least every 2 years.
Requires the EPA, within 3 years, to issue a rule making every PFAS manufacturer and user file regular reports (starting within 18 months of the rule, then at least yearly) disclosing their PFAS uses, volumes, chemical identities, environmental releases at any detectable level, byproducts, known health and environmental effects, and the number of workers exposed; the EPA must publish each report for at least 90 days of public comment.
Requires manufacturers and users to complete a full phaseout of all nonessential uses of PFAS within 10 years of enactment, to submit phaseout plans and schedules within 3 years, and allows the EPA, after public comment, to order a faster phaseout (including in response to a public petition).
Bans the sale or distribution in interstate commerce of new products containing PFAS on a staggered schedule: carpets/rugs, fabric treatments, food packaging, juvenile products, and oil-and-gas products after 1 year; cosmetics, indoor textiles and furniture, accessories/handbags, and most apparel after 2 years; outdoor textiles and furniture after 4 years; and severe-wet-condition outdoor apparel after 5 years (resale of used products is exempt for several categories).
Prohibits all nonessential uses of PFAS 10 years after enactment, treats any use as nonessential unless the EPA has affirmatively designated it essential, and sets up a process — by public petition (with the burden of proof on the petitioner) or EPA rulemaking — to designate uses as essential or nonessential based on the best available science.
Directs federal agencies, working with the EPA and the General Services Administration, to eliminate to the maximum extent practicable the government's purchasing of products known to contain PFAS, and lets them pause procurement of products not yet shown to be PFAS-free.
Makes it unlawful, beginning 10 years after enactment, for any manufacturer or user to release PFAS into the environment above a validated detection threshold, and requires the EPA within 7 years to finalize a rule setting the phaseout schedule, detection methods, and thresholds for those releases.
Gives the EPA broad enforcement powers over PFAS: it may require monitoring, sampling, recordkeeping, and information from regulated parties, enter and inspect premises, and impose civil penalties set to remove any economic benefit of a violation, with criminal fines and up to 5 years' imprisonment for reckless violations.
Requires a manufacturer or user causing an imminent and substantial endangerment from PFAS to provide, at its own cost, immediate public notice to affected communities and utilities, hold public meetings, and give regular updates.
Lets any person sue PFAS manufacturers or users alleged to be violating the law or creating an imminent and substantial endangerment, and sue the EPA for failing to perform nondiscretionary duties, after required notice periods, with courts able to award litigation costs and attorney fees to a prevailing party.
Waives the federal government's sovereign immunity so that federal agencies and facilities must comply with all federal, state, and local PFAS laws — including penalties, fines, and service charges — the same as any private party, while letting the President grant renewable 1-year national-security exemptions that must generally be made public and reported annually to Congress.
Sets a federal regulatory floor under which no state may impose PFAS requirements less stringent than this law, while expressly preserving the right of states and localities to adopt and enforce more stringent PFAS requirements.
Establishes EPA fees on industry — an annual report fee and a petition fee (defaulting to $100,000 each, with possible reductions for small manufacturers and waivers for government and nonprofit petitioners) — and creates dedicated Treasury funds so the fees pay for administering the reporting and petition programs.
Creates two federally supported Centers of Excellence (one at a major research university paired with a National Laboratory, and one rural center) to develop PFAS detection and remediation technology, share testing capabilities with municipalities and individuals at reasonable cost, and provide open access to research, funded by $25,000,000 redirected from existing Department of Defense environmental research programs.
Amends the federal Superfund (CERCLA) law to extend its rule that delays state limitations periods so it also covers statutes of repose, applying to bankruptcy cases pending or commenced on or after enactment, which preserves more time for people to bring PFAS-related contamination claims.
Authorizes such sums as necessary to be appropriated to the EPA to carry out the law for fiscal years 2027 through 2036.
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- Communities and consumers exposed to PFASGain public disclosure of PFAS use and releases, removal of PFAS from many consumer products, mandatory community notice of PFAS endangerment, a right to sue over violations or endangerment, and a federal floor of protection that states may exceed.
- Research universities, National Laboratories, and rural universitiesAre eligible to host federally supported Centers of Excellence for PFAS detection and remediation research and may receive PFAS stocks transferred for research.
Who it burdens
- PFAS manufacturers, importers, and usersMust file detailed annual reports on their PFAS uses, volumes, releases, and worker exposure, pay per-report and per-petition fees (defaulting to $100,000 each), submit and meet phaseout plans, stop nonessential uses within 10 years, and face inspections, civil penalties, and possible criminal liability for violations.
- Makers and sellers of PFAS-containing consumer productsAre barred, on a 1-to-5-year staggered schedule, from selling or distributing new carpets, food packaging, cosmetics, apparel, furniture, and other listed products that contain PFAS in interstate commerce.
- Federal agencies and facilitiesLose sovereign immunity for PFAS regulation and must comply with all federal, state, and local PFAS laws — including penalties, fines, and service charges — the same as a private party, and must stop buying PFAS-containing products where practicable.
Who backs it
- Regulated PFAS industry (via fees)Annual report fees and petition fees paid by manufacturers and users are deposited into dedicated Treasury funds that finance the EPA's administration of the reporting and petition programs.
- Department of Defense environmental research programs$25,000,000 of funds otherwise authorized for two DoD environmental research and certification programs for fiscal year 2027 is redirected to the EPA to establish and run the Centers of Excellence.