PFAS User Fee Act of 2019

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances have emerged as pervasive contaminants in sources of drinking water and water to be treated by treatment works.

Such substances are not naturally occurring, but are present in water because of manufacturing and distribution of PFAS in commerce.

Such substances pose serious risks to health, including risks of cancer, reproductive and developmental effects, and effects on the immune system, liver, and kidneys.

Because of these risks, regulatory limits continue to be established for PFAS in drinking water and effluent from treatment works.

Removing PFAS from water results in significant ongoing operation and maintenance costs.

Those costs are currently borne by community water systems and treatment works, and in turn by ratepayers.

Those costs should rightly be borne by the manufacturers of PFAS, who are using community water systems and treatment works to remove their pollution from the environment.

Administrator— The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Affected facility— The term affected facility means—

Community water system— The term community water system has the meaning given that term in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f).

Disadvantaged community— The term disadvantaged community has the meaning given that term in section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12).

Manufacture— The term manufacture has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2602).

PFAS— The term PFAS means a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance with at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.

Treatment works— The term treatment works has the meaning given that term in section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292).

In general— The Administrator shall, by rule, establish fees for the manufacture of PFAS, which shall be assessed to each person manufacturing PFAS based on the amount of PFAS manufactured by the person.

Initial fee— Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish fees under subsection (a) that are sufficient to ensure the collection of not less than $2,000,000,000 dollars per year.

Review and update— Not less frequently than every 2 years, the Administrator shall review the fees established under subsection (a) and update such fees as necessary to ensure that the fee collections are sufficient to cover at least 25 percent of the operation and maintenance costs associated with the removal of PFAS by affected facilities.

Establishment— There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the “PFAS Treatment Trust Fund”, consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated to such Trust Fund.

Transfer to Trust Fund of amounts equivalent to user fees— There are hereby appropriated to the PFAS Treatment Trust Fund amounts equivalent to the fees collected under section 4.

Expenditures from Trust Fund— Amounts in the PFAS Treatment Trust Fund shall be available, without further appropriation, only for purposes of making expenditures to carry out section 6.

Grants— The Administrator shall make grants to affected facilities to pay for operation and maintenance costs associated with the removal of PFAS.

Priority— The Administrator shall prioritize for funding grants to affected facilities serving disadvantaged communities.