II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1433 To exempt certain aviation entities from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 for the release of certain perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 3, 2023 Ms. LUMMIS (for herself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. RICKETTS, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To exempt certain aviation entities from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 for the release of certain perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Airports PFAS Liabil- 4 ity Protection Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1433.IS S1433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1433 IS SEC. 2. EXEMPTION UNDER CERCLA. 1 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 (1) COVERED PERFLUOROALKYL OR 3 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘cov- 4 ered perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance’’ 5 means a non-polymeric perfluoroalkyl or 6 polyfluoroalkyl substance that contains at least 2 se- 7 quential fully fluorinated carbon atoms, excluding 8 gases and volatile liquids, that is a hazardous sub- 9 stance (as defined in section 101 of the Comprehen- 10 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 11 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601)). 12 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 13 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 14 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 15 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 16 (3) SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘sponsor’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 47102 of title 49, 18 United States Code. 19 (b) EXEMPTION.—Subject to subsection (c), no per- 20 son (including the United States, any State, or an Indian 21 Tribe) may recover costs or damages from a sponsor, in- 22 cluding a sponsor of the civilian portion of a joint-use air- 23 port or a shared-use airport (as those terms are defined 24 in section 139.5 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations 25 (or a successor regulation)), under the Comprehensive En- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1433.IS S1433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1433 IS vironmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) for costs arising from a 2 release to the environment of a covered perfluoroalkyl or 3 polyfluoroalkyl substance. 4 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (b) shall only 5 apply— 6 (1) if the release of a covered perfluoroalkyl or 7 polyfluoroalkyl substance by a sponsor resulted from 8 the use of an aqueous film forming foam; and 9 (2) if the use described in paragraph (1) was— 10 (A) required by the Federal Aviation Ad- 11 ministration for compliance with part 139 of 12 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 13 cessor regulations); and 14 (B) carried out in accordance with Federal 15 Aviation Administration standards and guid- 16 ance on the use of that substance. 17 (d) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 18 precludes liability for damages or costs associated with the 19 release of a covered perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl sub- 20 stance by a sponsor if that sponsor acted with gross neg- 21 ligence or willful misconduct in the use of an aqueous film 22 forming foam. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1433.IS S1433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS