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.
What this bill touches.
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.