Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito said Wednesday she has an answer to thorny questions about who pays for “forever chemicals” cleanups and how to shift pressure to EPA for clearer standards and disposal guidance.
The West Virginia Republican suggested Congress should look to the brownfields program, Superfund’s grant-based sister scheme for revitalizing former industrial sites, as it weighs how to deal with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Congress has already figured out “a proven framework for good governance,” she said.
EPA last year designated two PFAS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. The Biden-era rule, upheld by the Trump administration, gives the agency authority to put polluters on the hook for PFOA and PFOS cleanups.
