Following up on the rulemaking process presaged by Minnesota’s comprehensive statute (Amara’s Law) requiring phase outs of PFAS intentionally added to products, which we’ve previously discussed here and here, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued a new request for comments that consolidates two separate earlier requests for comments on proposed reporting requirements and proposed fees authorized by the statute. According to MPCA in its request for comments document, this latest solicitation of comments marks the legal notice of the agency’s intent to begin rulemaking; the agency has not yet published a draft rule, but rather intends for its proposed rules to be informed by this round of comments (which ended earlier this week) and by promised future opportunities for public comment.
MPCA specifically asked the public and the intended regulated community for comments pertaining to reporting of PFAS intentionally added to products (as authorized by Minnesota Statute Chapter 116, Section 116.943, subdivision 2), and the associated fee to administer the contemplated reporting system (as authorized by Minnesota Statute Chapter 116, Section 116.943, subdivision 6).
The reporting obligation under Amara’s Law will take effect January 1, 2026, and will require “a manufacturer of a product sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state that contains intentionally added PFAS” to submit information that includes: “(1) a brief description of the product, including a universal product code (UPC), stock keeping unit (SKU), or other numeric code assigned to the product; (2) the purpose for which PFAS are used in the product, including in any product components; (3) the amount of each PFAS, identified by its chemical abstracts service registry number, in the product, reported as an exact quantity determined using commercially available analytical methods or as falling within a range approved for reporting purposes by the commissioner; (4) the name and address of the manufacturer and the name, address, and phone number of a contact person for the manufacturer; and (5) any additional information requested by the commissioner as necessary to implement the requirements of this section.” Minnesota Statute Chapter 116, Section 116.943, subdivision 2. However, “[w]ith the approval of the [MPCA] commissioner, a manufacturer may supply the [above-required] information … for a category or type of product rather than for each individual product.” Id. Further, “A manufacturer must submit the information required under this subdivision whenever a new product that contains intentionally added PFAS is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state and update and revise the information whenever there is significant change in the information or when requested to do so by the commissioner.” Id. After the January 1, 2026 effective date for the reporting obligation, “[a] person may not sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale in the state a product containing intentionally added PFAS if the manufacturer has failed to provide the information required under this subdivision and the person has received notification under subdivision 4” of the statute. Id. Amara’s Law defines PFAS broadly, to mean “a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom,” and does not distinguish between polymeric and non-polymeric PFAS. Id. Section 116.943, subdivision 1(p).
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