PFAS Liability Is Moving Upstream: What Recent Litigation Signals for Municipal Utilities
Recent litigation and regulatory developments continue to influence how responsibility for Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination is assessed. Courts and policymakers are increasingly focusing on industrial sources and chemical manufacturers that introduced PFAS into commerce, rather than treating municipal water and wastewater systems as default points of liability. This reflects recognition that treatment facilities often receive PFAS from upstream sources—such as industrial dischargers, product manufacturers, and other contributors that release PFAS into sewer systems or the environment—and have limited ability to remove these compounds using conventional treatment processes.
Recent cases illustrate this trend. In New York, DuPont agreed in 2025 to a $27 million settlement resolving claims related to PFAS contamination of the Hoosick Falls municipal water supply, based on allegations that upstream releases of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contaminated groundwater and required significant community response measures. Nationally, similar issues are being litigated in Cape Fear Public Utility Authority v. The Chemours Company, where public utilities allege that long-term PFAS discharges into the Cape Fear River necessitated costly treatment upgrades.
These cases are developing alongside evolving regulation. In New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation has issued additional PFAS guidance and engaged stakeholders on wastewater and landfill leachate issues, while proposed legislation would expand PFAS monitoring and disclosure requirements and establish additional standards for certain PFAS compounds.
At the federal level, PFAS liability allocation has also received congressional attention. During a December 2025 House Energy & Commerce subcommittee hearing, representatives from the water and waste sectors raised concerns regarding potential liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for entities that receive PFAS-contaminated materials but do not manufacture PFAS, while environmental advocates cautioned against broad liability exemptions. Taken together, these developments reflect an evolving legal and regulatory framework for allocating PFAS-related responsibility among public and private actors.
WGL attorneys have represented municipal government and state agencies throughout the country for more than thirty years, focusing our practice on water and wastewater sectors, solid waste and materials management, emerging technology, public construction and cutting-edge regulatory issues and litigation. Currently, our attorneys are actively involved in PFAS matters from legislation to litigation and are well positioned to help our existing and new public sector clients navigate the complex framework of PFAS regulation, compliance and planning.
For more information please contact Managing Partner Teno West at:
twest@westgrouplaw.com or at 917-922-6226.
