Forever Chemicals

2025-2026 Bill 5572: Forever Chemicals - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5572
STATUS INFORMATION
Joint Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Bustos, J. Moore, Landing and Teeple
Document Path: LC-0508VR26.docx
Introduced in the House on April 23, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
Summary: Forever Chemicals
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

4/23/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 11
)

4/23/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
(
House Journal-page 11
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
04/23/2026

A joint Resolution

TO REQUIRE THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES TO DEVELOP, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY, COMPREHENSIVE PFAS GUIDELINES THAT, AT MINIMUM, ESTABLISH
SCIENCE-BASED THRESHOLDS FOR SAFE AND DANGEROUS LEVELS OF PFAS COMPOUNDS IN
DRINKING WATER, SURFACE WATER, GROUNDWATER, AND SOIL; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
T
he South Carolina Department of Environmental Services
is directed to develop, in collaboration with the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, comprehensive PFAS guidelines that, at minimum, establish
science-based thresholds for safe and dangerous levels of PFAS in the
following:

(
1) drinking
water, including both public water systems and private wells;

(
2) surface
waters, including rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs used for recreational
or water supply purposes;

(
3)
groundwater; and

(
4) soil,
including residential, agricultural, and industrial soil.

(
B) The guidelines
developed pursuant to this section must, at minimum:

(
1) identify
specific PFAS compounds of concern as well as such additional compounds the
department determines present a significant risk to public health or to the
environment;

(
2) establish
distinct threshold values, based on the best available peer-reviewed science,
that delineate:

(
a) levels
of PFAS concentrations that are considered safe for human health and
environmental use;

(
b) levels
of PFAS concentrations that warrant increased monitoring, public notification,
and precautionary measures; and

(
c) levels
of PFAS concentrations that are deemed dangerous, necessitating immediate
remediation, public notification, and regulatory intervention; and

(
3) give
special consideration to the protection of vulnerable populations, including
infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and communities with higher
rates of PFAS exposure due to proximity to contamination sources.

(
C) The department
must submit a written report, including its findings and proposed PFAS
guidelines, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives no later than one year following the effective date of this
Joint Resolution.

(
D) For purposes
of this section, "PFAS" means per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance.

S
ECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect
upon approval by the Governor and is repealed one year after the effective date
of this joint resolution unless reauthorized by the General Assembly.

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This web page was last updated on April 23, 2026 at 11:25 AM