H.R. 8016
Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act of 2026
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act of 2026
This bill phases out the release and nonessential use of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and addresses PFAS research, remediation, regulation, and enforcement.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must require each manufacturer and user of PFAS to submit annual reports that include specified information about the essential (e.g., critical for health or safety reasons) and nonessential uses of PFAS by such entities. Not later than 10 years after the enactment of this bill, manufacturers and users must fully phase out nonessential uses of PFAS.
The bill also
- establishes specified deadlines to phase out the sale of certain products containing PFAS;
- requires federal agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, to eliminate the procurement of products known to contain PFAS;
- imposes a 10-year phaseout of the release of PFAS above a certain threshold of detection;
- provides enforcement authority to the EPA regarding violations of the requirements of the bill, including through civil and criminal penalties;
- allows citizen suits against manufacturers and users of PFAS and the EPA; and
- addresses actions under state law related to damages from exposure to hazardous substances, including with regard to statutes of repose.
The bill exempts from a bankruptcy petition’s automatic stay any proceeding against a non-debtor entity (e.g., a proceeding to obtain property from a non-debtor) with respect to a PBT claim (a claim relating to persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals) against the non-debtor entity, the debtor, or the estate.
Text of the bill
I Phaseout of nonessential perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and all releases
II Other matters with respect to perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances
(a) In general. Title III of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9651 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
313. Special provision relating to persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals defendants and debtors
(a) Definitions. In this section:
(1) Claim; debtor; entity; petition. The terms claim, debtor, entity, and petition have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of title 11, United States Code.
(2) Estate. The term estate means an estate of a debtor described in section 541 of title 11, United States Code.
(3) Nondebtor entity. The term nondebtor entity means an entity that is not a debtor or an estate.
(4) PBT claim. The term PBT claim means a claim based on, arising from, or attributable to the presence of, or exposure to—
(A) a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (as defined in section 2 of the Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act of 2026); or
(B) any chemical substance possessing characteristics of—
(i) persistence in the environment, with a half-life of the chemical substance equal to or greater than—
(I) 2 months in water, sediment, and soil; or
(II) 2 days in air;
(ii) accumulation in biological organisms, with a bioaccumulation factor of bioconcentration factor equal to or greater than 1,000; and
(iii) toxicity, with the potential to adversely affect human health or the environment.
(b) Automatic stay. The filing of a petition does not operate as a stay under section 362(a) of title 11, United States Code, of the commencement or continuation, including the issuance or employment of process, of a judicial, administrative, or other action or proceeding against a nondebtor entity, or any act to obtain or recover property of a nondebtor entity, on account of or with respect to a PBT claim against the nondebtor entity, the debtor, or the estate (including a claim or cause of action against the nondebtor entity that is property of the debtor or the estate).
(b) Effective date
(1) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section and the amendment made by this section—
(A) shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) shall apply to any case under title 11, United States Code, that is—
(i) pending as of the date of enactment of this Act; or
(ii) commenced or reopened on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Validity of final orders. Nothing in this section, or the amendment made by this section, shall affect the validity of any final judgment, order, or decree entered before the date of enactment of this Act.