An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1503
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: GRAMLICH, BENNETT, DUNPHY, FAY, FECTEAU, PLUECKER, DAUGHTRY
Amends: 38 MRSA §1612

Legislative Document
No. 1503
H.P. 1113
House of Representatives, April 15, 2021
An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances 
Pollution
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 13, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Environment and Natural Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant 
to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GRAMLICH of Old Orchard Beach.
Cosponsored by Senator BENNETT of Oxford and
Representatives: DUNPHY of Old Town, FAY of Raymond, Speaker FECTEAU of Biddeford, 
PLUECKER of Warren, Senator: DAUGHTRY of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1612 is enacted to read:
§1612.  Products containing PFAS
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Carpet or rug" means a fabric marketed or intended for use as a floor covering.
B.  "Currently unavoidable use" means a use of PFAS that the department has 
determined by rule under this section to be essential for health, safety or the functioning 
of society and for which alternatives are not reasonably available.
C.  "Fabric treatment" means a substance applied to fabric to give the fabric one or 
more characteristics, including but not limited to stain resistance or water resistance.
D.  "Intentionally added PFAS" means PFAS added to a product or one of its product 
components to provide a specific characteristic, appearance or quality or to perform a 
specific function.  "Intentionally added PFAS" also includes any degradation by-
products of PFAS.
E.  "Manufacturer" means the person that manufactures a product or whose brand name 
is affixed to the product.  In the case of a product imported into the United States, 
"manufacturer" includes the importer or first domestic distributor of the product if the 
person that manufactured or assembled the product or whose brand name is affixed to 
the product does not have a presence in the United States.
F.  "Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS" means substances that 
include any member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least 
one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
G.  "Product" means an item manufactured, assembled, packaged or otherwise prepared 
for sale to consumers, including its product components, sold or distributed for 
personal, residential, commercial or industrial use, including for use in making other 
products.
H.  "Product component" means an identifiable component of a product, regardless of 
whether the manufacturer of the product is the manufacturer of the component.
I.  "Publicly owned treatment works" has the same meaning as in section 361-A.
2.  Notification.  A manufacturer of a product for sale in the State that contains 
intentionally added PFAS shall comply with the requirements of this subsection.
A.  Beginning January 1, 2023, a manufacturer of a product for sale in the State that 
contains intentionally added PFAS shall submit to the department a written notification 
that includes:
(1)  A brief description of the product;
(2)  The purpose for which PFAS are used in the product, including in any product 
components;
(3)  The amount of each of the PFAS, identified by its chemical abstracts service 
registry number, in the product, reported as an exact quantity determined using 
commercially available analytical methods or as falling within a range approved 
for reporting purposes by the department; 
(4)  The name and address of the manufacturer, and the name, address and phone 
number of a contact person for the manufacturer; and
(5)  Any additional information established by the department by rule as necessary 
to implement the requirements of this section.
B.  With the approval of the department, a manufacturer may supply the information 
required in paragraph A for a category or type of product rather than for each individual 
product.
C.  In accordance with rules adopted by the department, a manufacturer shall update 
and revise the information in the written notification whenever there is significant 
change in the information.
3.  Waiver of notification; coordination with other states; extension of deadline.  
The department may waive all or part of the notification requirement under subsection 2 if 
the department determines that substantially equivalent information is already publicly 
available.  The department may enter into an agreement with one or more other states or 
political subdivisions of a state to collect notifications and may accept notifications to a 
shared system as meeting the notification requirement under subsection 2.  The department 
may extend the deadline for submission by a manufacturer of the information required 
under subsection 2 if the department determines that more time is needed by the 
manufacturer to comply with the submission requirement.
4.  Exemptions.  The following are exempt from this section:
A.  A product for which federal law governs the presence of PFAS in the product in a 
manner that preempts state authority; and
B.  A product subject to Title 32, chapter 26-A or 26-B.
5.  Prohibition on sale of products containing intentionally added PFAS.  This 
subsection governs sales of products containing intentionally added PFAS.
A.  Effective January 1, 2023, a person may not sell, offer for sale or distribute for sale 
in this State a carpet or rug that contains intentionally added PFAS.  This prohibition 
does not apply to the sale or resale of a used carpet or rug.
B.  Effective January 1, 2023, a person may not sell, offer for sale or distribute for sale 
in this State a fabric treatment that contains intentionally added PFAS.  This prohibition 
does not apply to the sale or resale of a used fabric treatment.
C.  The department may by rule identify products by category or use that may not be 
sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in this State if they contain intentionally 
added PFAS.  The department shall prioritize the prohibition of the sale of product 
categories that, in the department's judgment, are most likely to cause contamination 
of the State's land or water resources if they contain intentionally added PFAS.  
Products in which the use of PFAS is a currently unavoidable use as determined by the 
department may be exempted by the department by rule.  The department may not 
prohibit the sale or resale of used products.
D.  Effective January 1, 2030, a person may not sell, offer for sale or distribute for sale 
in this State any product that contains intentionally added PFAS, unless the department 
has determined by rule that the use of PFAS in the product is a currently unavoidable 
use.  The department may specify specific products or product categories in which it 
has determined the use of PFAS is a currently unavoidable use.  This prohibition does 
not apply to the sale or resale of used products.
6.  Fees.  The department may establish by rule and assess a fee payable by a 
manufacturer upon submission of the notification required under subsection 2 to cover the 
department's reasonable costs in developing rules under subsection 5, paragraphs C and D 
and administering the requirements of subsections 2 and 9.  The department may choose to 
set fees based upon the volume of PFAS, volume of sales or type of PFAS.  
7.  Failure to provide notice.  A person, other than a retailer, may not sell, offer for 
sale or distribute for sale in this State a product containing intentionally added PFAS unless 
the manufacturer of that product has provided information required under subsection 2 to 
the department or unless the department by rule has determined that the use of PFAS in the 
product is a currently unavoidable use.  A retailer may not sell, offer for sale or distribute 
for sale in this State a product containing intentionally added PFAS if the retailer has 
received a notification with respect to that product in accordance with subsection 8, 
paragraph B. 
8.  Certificate of compliance.  If the department has reason to believe that a product 
contains intentionally added PFAS and is being offered for sale in violation of subsection 
7, the department may direct the manufacturer of the product to, within 30 days:
A.  Provide the department with the certificate attesting that the product does not 
contain intentionally added PFAS; or
B.  Notify persons who sell that product in this State that the sale of that product is 
prohibited in this State and provide the department with a list of the names and 
addresses of those notified.
9.  PFAS source reduction program.  The department shall develop and implement, 
in consultation with relevant stakeholders, a program to reduce the presence of PFAS in 
discharges to air, water and land. The program must be designed to encourage the 
replacement of PFAS with safer alternatives, but may also support the proper management 
of PFAS.  Elements of the program may be carried out in conjunction with existing 
department efforts for pollution prevention or source reduction.  The program must include:
A.  Information resources targeted to industrial or commercial users of PFAS;
B.  Education of the general public;
C.  To the extent funds are available, grants to operators of publicly owned treatment 
works for the purposes of developing, expanding or implementing pretreatment 
standards for PFAS and education of users on sources of PFAS and proper 
management;
D.  To the extent funds are available, grants to municipalities for the purposes of 
educating solid waste disposal users on sources of PFAS and proper management; and
E.  Other efforts determined by the department to be prudent to achieve the program's 
purpose.
10.  Rules.  The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
This bill requires manufacturers of products with intentionally added perfluoroalkyl 
and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to report the presence of those substances in 
those products to the Department of Environmental Protection beginning in 2023.  This bill 
also prohibits the sale of residential carpets or rugs, as well as the sale of fabric treatments, 
that contain intentionally added PFAS beginning in 2023.  Additional product categories 
containing intentionally added PFAS may also be identified by the department and 
prohibited from sale.  Effective in 2030, products containing intentionally added PFAS 
may not be sold unless the use of PFAS in a product is specifically designated as a currently 
unavoidable use by the department.  The department is required to create a PFAS source 
reduction program that provides information, education and, to the extent funds are 
available, grants to publicly owned treatment works and municipalities to reduce PFAS 
entering air, water or land.