On March 10, AGC submitted a letter to the record for a recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on environmental permitting. AGC’s testimony at the hearing, held February 19, 2025, focused primarily on permitting reform. AGC’s letter raises another top issue impacting construction and infrastructure projects: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rulemaking designating two forever chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS) as hazardous substances under Superfund law. EPA’s 2024 rule initiated significant liability for contractors who will (or may have) encounter these chemicals on public and private infrastructure projects.
In its letter, AGC makes three overarching recommendations: to support the development of much-needed EPA guidelines including background levels, recognize and protect construction as passive receivers, and end the risk shifting for PFAS Superfund liability to contractors by public owners. Similar to other passive receivers, such as agriculture or the waste management industries, the construction industry does not produce or sell PFAS. AGC members can encounter PFAS on projects in soil, groundwater, and materials, and the industry will be at the forefront of any remediation and management efforts.
Limited EPA guidelines combined with extreme Superfund risk and liability are causing uncertainty and limiting contractor participation in bidding for infrastructure projects. The ubiquitous nature of PFAS means that contractors performing normal site activities could be left holding the bill for cleanup of contamination they did not cause—across their project portfolios.
AGC sent copies of its letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in addition to U.S. House of Representative committees with jurisdiction over energy and commerce as well as transportation and infrastructure—requesting follow-up meetings with each group. Meanwhile, AGC remains active in a lawsuit against the EPA 2024 Superfund rule for PFAS.For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino at melinda.tomaino@agc.org.