Alaska's senators vote against overturning EPA's PFAS reporting delay

The US Senate blocked a resolution Wednesday that would have restored a delayed federal reporting deadline for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. Alaska companies that manufacture or import the "forever chemicals" keep operating under the postponed rule. The vote was 48-50 on a motion to proceed to S.J.Res. 187, which sought to overturn an EPA rule pushing back when companies must disclose PFAS use. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Alaska Republicans, voted nay.

The rule falls under section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. It requires anyone who manufactured or imported PFAS since 2011 to report uses, volumes, disposal and hazards. EPA's April 13 action moved the submission period to 60 days after proposed revisions take effect. Those revisions would exempt low concentrations, imported articles, byproducts and research uses.

The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy said the changes "reduce regulatory burdens on small entities," citing estimates that exemptions would drop more than 127,000 small businesses from reporting. A coalition of state attorneys general countered in a December 22 letter that "EPA has no authority to disregard this unambiguous instruction."

Carolyn Hall told the Alaska State House State Affairs Committee at an April 23 hearing on PFAS legislation that "we know of communities across Alaska that have PFAS contamination." She added that the chemicals are "pervasive in the environment and can easily spread from its point of origin."

Separately, more than 20 Alaska water systems face July 2026 deadlines tied to $14 billion in national PFAS settlements. The Air Force says a contamination plume at Eielson Air Force Base is spreading.