PFAS Accountability Act of 2019

To encourage Federal agencies to expeditiously enter into or amend cooperative agreements with States for removal and remedial actions to address PFAS contamination in drinking, surface, and ground water and land surface and subsurface strata, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the PFAS Accountability Act of 2019 2. Cooperative agreements with States for removal and remedial actions to address drinking, surface, and ground water and soil contamination from PFAS (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Federal facility (A) In general The term Federal facility 42 U.S.C. 9601 (B) Inclusion The term Federal facility (i) a facility or site— (I) owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed by the United States; or (II) under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense; (ii) a facility or site that, at the time of the actions leading to contamination or suspected contamination of drinking water, surface water, or groundwater or land surface or subsurface strata from a per­flu­or­i­nat­ed compound, was— (I) owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed by the United States; or (II) under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense; and (iii) land owned and operated by a State when the land is used for training the National Guard pursuant to chapter 5 (2) Fully fluorinated carbon atom The term fully fluorinated carbon atom (3) Perfluorinated compound The term perfluorinated compound PFAS (4) State The term State 42 U.S.C. 9601 (b) Cooperative agreement (1) In general On request by the Governor or chief executive of a State, a Federal department or agency shall work expeditiously to finalize a cooperative agreement for, or to amend an existing cooperative agreement to address, testing, monitoring, removal, and remedial actions to address contamination or suspected contamination of drinking water, surface water, or groundwater or land surface or subsurface strata from a perfluorinated compound originating from a Federal facility. (2) Minimum standards A cooperative agreement finalized or amended under paragraph (1) shall require the area subject to the cooperative agreement to meet or exceed the most stringent of the following standards for perfluorinated compounds in any environmental media: (A) An enforceable State standard, in effect in that State, for drinking water, surface water, or groundwater or land surface or subsurface strata, as required under section 121(d) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9621(d) (B) A health advisory under section 1412(b)(1)(F) of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(1)(F) (C) Any Federal standard, requirement, criterion, or limit, including a standard, requirement, criterion, or limit issued under— (i) the Toxic Substances Control Act ( 15 U.S.C. 2601 (ii) the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300f (iii) the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 (iv) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 (v) the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (commonly known as the Ocean Dumping Act 33 U.S.C. 1401 (vi) the Solid Waste Disposal Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6901 (3) Other authority In addition to the requirements for a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1), when otherwise authorized to expend funds for the purpose of addressing ground or surface water contaminated by a perfluorinated compound, the head of a Federal department or agency may, to expend those funds, enter into a grant agreement, cooperative agreement, or contract with— (A) the local water authority with jurisdiction over the contamination site, including— (i) a public water system (as defined in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300f (ii) a publicly owned treatment works (as defined in section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1292 (B) a State, local, or Tribal government. (c) Notification requirement (1) Definition of appropriate congressional committees In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees (A) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate; (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; (C) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and (D) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives. (2) Report (A) In general If a cooperative agreement is not finalized or amended under subsection (b) by the date that is 1 year after the date on which a request by the Governor or chief executive of a State was made, the President shall submit a report described in subparagraph (B) to— (i) the appropriate congressional committees; (ii) each Senator from the State affected by the perfluorinated compound contamination; and (iii) each member of Congress that represents a district affected by the per­fluo­ri­nat­ed compound contamination. (B) Report described The report referred to in subparagraph (A) shall include— (i) a detailed explanation of why a cooperative agreement has not been finalized or amended, as applicable; and (ii) a projected timeline for finalizing or amending a cooperative agreement, as applicable.

Summary: PFAS Accountability Act of 2019 This bill addresses the remediation of water or land that is contaminated from certain perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) originating from federal facilities or sites, including the Department of Defense's sites or facilities. PFAS are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain PFAS, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing. Upon state request, federal departments or agencies must expedite cooperative agreements with states to address the contamination—or suspected contamination—of drinking water, surface water, groundwater, land surface, or subsurface strata (e.g., rock or soil). The cooperative agreements must meet or exceed the most stringent of the standards enumerated in the bill. If cooperative agreements are not finalized a year after requests are made by states, then the President must provide to Congress reports that include (1) explanations of why cooperative agreements have not been finalized or amended, and (2) projected timelines for finalizing the agreements.