PFAS

March 20, 2023 | Written by GreenSoft Technology, Inc.

Proposed text of Maine’s new PFAS regulation published

New PFAS regulation mandates reporting requirements for all affected companies selling products in the state of Maine

On February 14, the U.S. state of Maine released the text proposal of the state’s new PFAS regulation.

The regulation mandates reporting requirements for any products sold in the state of Maine which contain intentionally added PFAS substances, and is effective January 1, 2023.

The newly released text of the regulation, Chapter 90: Products Containing Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, provides additional guidance on the notification requirements and sales prohibitions for products and product components containing intentionally added PFAS pursuant to 38 M.R.S. 1614.

The obligation to provide a notification of intentionally added PFAS present in products sold within Maine has been in effect since January 1^st of 2023. However, the implementing regulation which defines the procedural requirements for making the required notifications, and the database which will receive the notifications, are both currently under development. This newly published draft rulemaking defines the details of notification requirements, including a definition of in-scope PFAS compounds, details on information required for submissions, submission fees, and penalties for non-compliance.

The state of Maine is accepting public comments on the proposed rulemaking until May 19, 2023. Interested parties may submit comments online.

The full text of the proposed rule can be found online.

All manufacturers of products containing “intentionally added PFAS” are included in regulation scope

Under proposed text, any member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom are in scope of the regulation; with the proposal specifically referencing the master PFAS substance list published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Any PFAS chemical which has not been assigned a Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number is not included in the scope of the regulation. However, any PFAS chemical which does have a CAS number is included in the scope, even if the supplier has not disclosed the CAS number. 

The notification requirements of the regulation apply to manufacturers of products, including product components, which are sold or distributed for personal, residential, commercial, or industrial use, including for use in making other products. Product retailers do not have notification requirements under the proposed rule.

Notification requirement effective January 1, 2023

The proposed rule lays out the process that manufacturers must follow in order to submit notifications. Beginning January 1, 2023, a manufacturer of a product for sale in the state that contains intentionally added PFAS shall submit a notification to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The notification shall include:

• A brief description of the product, the Global Product Classification (GPC) brick category and code, the general type of the product, and the intended use of the product;
• The purpose for which PFAS are added in the product, including PFAS in any product component;
• The amount of each PFAS as a concentration, identified by name and its CAS registry number, of each PFAS in the product or any product component; and
• The name and address of the reporting manufacturer.

The above information will need to be submitted using the Maine DEP’s online notification system once that system is published. Currently, the online notification has not yet been published, so affected manufacturers must instead send an email containing the above information in a commonly available software format (such as PDF) to PFASproducts@maine.gov.

Affected manufacturers that need an extension in order to comply with the regulation may submit an extension request to the same email address. The request should include a letter describing the company’s efforts to comply with the January 1, 2023 deadline and outline the specific challenges that necessitate an extension.

Once the online notification system is published, there will be a (proposed) $250 fee covering up to the first three notifications submitted, and an additional $50 fee for each additional notification thereafter.

GreenSoft Technology offers a PFAS solution for manufacturers

GreenSoft Technology’s Data Services solution provides affected companies with the chemical data from their supply chain that is needed to comply with the new Maine PFAS regulation.

Our data collection team will contact your suppliers to obtain data on the substances contained in your product and components. We’ll validate that data for accuracy and completeness, and then check it against the U.S. EPA’s master list of PFAS chemicals, as well as any other global environmental regulations you must comply with.

With our Turnkey Service, we can generate the necessary compliance reports for you. Or you can use our GreenData Manager software to manage your company’s substance database and generate reports for this and other environmental regulations.

Contact us to learn more.