Bipartisan Legislation Signed into Law to Reduce the Spread of Toxic PFAS at Commercial Airports

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The President has signed into law bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) to reduce the spread of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at commercial airports.

The Preventing PFAS Runoff at Airports Act – which recently passed the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives – will deploy more existing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding for commercial airports to purchase devices necessary to test their firefighting equipment without discharging toxic PFAS chemicals. This legislation will encourage commercial airports to purchase the relatively low-cost devices – also referred to as an input-based testing system – to help limit and prevent exposure to PFAS, which are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down. It also directs the FAA to identify options for reimbursing airports in Michigan and elsewhere that already acquired the devices without federal funding.

“The FAA requires regular testing of firefighting equipment, which may put undue burdens on regional, commercial airports, and lead to the discharge of harmful chemicals like PFAS,” Senator Capito said. “Specifically, the Preventing PFAS Runoff at Airports Act would benefit several airports in West Virginia – like Yeager, Greenbrier, and Mid-Ohio Valley – and improve overall safety of their operations. I’m pleased to see our legislation signed into law that recognizes the importance of testing airport rescue and firefighting equipment without dispersing dangerous PFAS chemicals into the environment.”

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