Minnesota Maintains PFAS Reporting Rule

Minnesota will hold fast to the planned timeline for its PFAS reporting rule, requiring manufacturers to file reports with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) by Sept. 15. MPCA Commissioner Katrina Kessler confirmed the deadline during the American Conference Institute's 3^rd Annual PFAS Regulation, Compliance, and Litigation Summit in May, indicating that despite prior delays that were implemented due to logistical challenges, the agency did not currently perceive a need to further delay the deadline.

The rule and deadline stem from Amara's Law, passed in 2023, the most comprehensive ban on non-essential uses of PFAS in the U.S. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Minnesota officially banned the use of PFAS in 11 consumer product categories: carpets or rugs, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, juvenile products, menstruation products, textile furnishings, ski wax, and upholstered furniture. Companies that do not have an alternative for the chemicals must file a report with the MPCA for any PFAS-containing product produced after July 1, 2023. Initially, reporting was required for all products regardless of manufacture date. A recently passed amendment to Amara's Law adjusts the scope of products requiring reporting to only include products manufactured after July 1, 2023. This change is in response to concerns from manufacturers that obtaining information about PFAS for older products can be difficult and is often not feasible. MPCA affirmed that this change is aligned with the goal of Amara's Law to phase out nonessential uses of PFAS moving forward from the time of its passage. 

To collect these reports, the MPCA has created the PFAS Reporting Information System for Manufacturers (PRISM) and an online user guide for the site. According to Commissioner Kessler, PRISM is functioning well and has successfully received and processed numerous submissions, which are now published and available for review by the public on MPCA's website. A review of currently available data identified reports for more than 11,000 products to date.

The lack of further delay in the Minnesota reporting deadline stands out in comparison to the repeated delays in reporting (and proposed relaxation of reporting requirements) under the federal PFAS reporting rule promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)7. The deadline for reporting under TSCA 8(a)7 was recently delayed for a third time to date. As a result, companies that may have paused or relaxed efforts to investigate the composition of their products due to the relaxation of TSCA 8(a)7 requirements may now face requirements for reporting in Minnesota before federal reporting is due. Further, proposed relaxation of TSCA 8(a)7 requirements, such as the exemption of imported articles, may render Minnesota's requirements more stringent than upcoming federal reporting. Minnesota reporting currently requires not only the identity and amount/concentration of PFAS but also the purpose/function of the PFAS in the product. While during the first reporting cycle, companies may indicate that some or all of this information is "unknown," or provide incomplete information in its responses, the MPCA has indicated that it expects companies to continue to make efforts to identify the PFAS in their products and that such responses may no longer be acceptable in future reporting cycles. This requirement places a burden on reporting companies to not only investigate, but to successfully and accurately obtain and report information about the identity, concentration, and function of the PFAS in their products, going above and beyond the level of investigative effort required for compliance with reporting under TSCA 8(a)7, which only requires companies to report "known or reasonably ascertainable" information.