In 2021, Maine enacted a law to phase out Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Under the statute, effective from January 1, 2030, any product containing intentionally added PFAS shall not be sold in the State, unless the use of PFAS in the product is determined as a currently unavoidable use (CUUs) by Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Starting in January 2024, the Department will begin a process to identify CUUs. CUU determinations must be made through major substantive rulemaking, requiring initial adoption by the Board of Environmental Protection and subsequent submission to the legislature for review.
To bring CUU proposals to the legislature in 2025, the Department is soliciting public opinions from those seeking CUU determinations. A separate proposal must be submitted for each product category. The proposals may be submitted by manufacturers individually or collectively by March 1, 2024.
Submission Requirements
Provide a brief description of the type of product including, if applicable, the Global Product Classification (GPC) brick category and code, or if GPC is not applicable than the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code.
Describe the intended use of the product and explain how it is essential for health, safety or the functioning of society.
Describe how the specific use of PFAS in the product is essential to the function of the product. If this use of PFAS is required by federal or state law or regulation, provide citations to that requirement.
Describe whether there are alternatives for this specific use of PFAS which are reasonably available.
Provide contact information for the submission.
Anticipated Rulemaking Schedule
January - March 2024, proposals for CUUs are submitted to the Department.
May 2024, Department issues a pre-rulemaking concept draft list of CUU for public input.
September 2024, Department initiates the rulemaking process for the CUU designations by posting the rule to the Board of Environmental Protection.
January 2025, Department submits the provisionally adopted major substantive rule to the Legislature.
It is worth noting that as part of the rulemaking process, the proposals will also be made public, therefore they should not contain any Confidential Business Information.
In addition, a product with approved instances of CUU is not exempt from the notification requirement stipulated by the law. A manufacturer of a product for sale in the State must report to the Department. The CUU only exempts a product containing intentionally added PFAS from sales ban from 2030.
