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The Courts United States

Chemical Makers Sue Over Rule To Rid Water of 'Forever Chemicals' (thehill.com) 101

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Chemical and manufacturing groups sued the federal government late Monday (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source) over a landmark drinking-water standard that would require cleanup of so-called forever chemicals linked to cancer and other health risks. The industry groups said that the government was exceeding its authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring that municipal water systems all but remove six synthetic chemicals, known by the acronym PFAS, that are present in the tap water of hundreds of millions of Americans. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that the new standard, put in place in April, will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses. The E.P.A.'s cleanup standard was also expected to prompt a wave of litigation against chemical manufacturers by water utilities nationwide trying to recoup their cleanup costs. Utilities have also challenged the stringent new standard, questioning the underlying science and citing the cost of filtering the toxic chemicals out of drinking water.

In a joint filing late Monday, the American Chemistry Council and National Association of Manufacturers said the E.P.A. rule was "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion." The petition was filed in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In a separate petition, the American Water Works Association and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies said the E.P.A. had "significantly underestimated the costs" of the rule. Taxpayers could ultimately foot the bill in the form of increased water rates, they said. PFAS, a vast class of chemicals also called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are widespread in the environment. They are commonly found in people's blood, and a 2023 government study of private wells and public water systems detected PFAS chemicals in nearly half the tap water in the country. Exposure to PFAS has been associated with developmental delays in children, decreased fertility in women and increased risk of some cancers, according to the E.P.A. [...] The E.P.A. estimates that it would cost water utilities about $1.5 billion annually to comply with the rule, though utilities have said the costs could be twice that amount.
Further reading: Lawyers To Plastic Makers: Prepare For 'Astronomical' PFAS Lawsuits
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Chemical Makers Sue Over Rule To Rid Water of 'Forever Chemicals'

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 12, 2024 @10:39PM (#64545409)

    In a separate petition, the American Water Works Association and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies said the E.P.A. had "significantly underestimated the costs" of the rule.

    Well darn. I guess that's it. It's just not practical to expect chemical companies to clean up the messes they make -- it should just be paid for by the people who want to drink clean water instead. Wont someone think of the poor shareholders?

    • by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Wednesday June 12, 2024 @11:08PM (#64545437)

      Exactly why we're suddenly seeing legislation to shut up that pesky EPA. https://appropriations.house.g... [house.gov]

      You know that agency that's only existed for close to 60 years and approved by noted environmentalist Richard Nixon.

      • 'Tis said that Nixon was a crook, but at least he was our crook.
      • Nixon only cared about foreign policy.

        He left domestic affairs to Congress and his advisors.

        Other than being a crook and a war criminal, he wasn't such a bad president.

        • by haruchai ( 17472 )

          Obamacare is not too far removed from Nixoncare. Imagine if that had come to fruition back in the day

          • Obamacare is not too far removed from Nixoncare. Imagine if that had come to fruition back in the day

            NixonCare was killed by Ted Kennedy.

            • by haruchai ( 17472 )

              So what?
              Did Ted also kill Hillarycare & Dolecare? Didn't he introduce his own plan? What happened to that?

        • I'm not sure being a croock and a wr criminal distinguish Nixon from any of his successors, except maybe Jimmy Carter.

        • Nixon was also a traitor! He made a deal directly with THE ENEMY to continue the war and killing Americans so that the Vietnam war would be worse and not on track to end! Then he got in and betrayed Vietnam to make a bigger mess of the war. Actual treason; declassified much later; Johnson didn't have the guts to go after him and once again-- failure to do the right thing because of politics let the villains get away with even more later on.

          • by gtall ( 79522 )

            And he and Kissinger also sold Taiwan down the river. There is no forgiveness to that.

          • by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Thursday June 13, 2024 @03:03AM (#64545697)

            Nixon was also a traitor!

            Fair enough.

            Other than being a crook, a war criminal, and a traitor, he wasn't such a bad president.

          • Well yeah, war criminal, racist, traitor, crook, animal abuser, homophobe... but not really so bad as far as presidents go.

            • But really, previous to the 1980s, who running for President wasn't a racist homophobe?

              Applying today's societal standards to people that were born previous to World War 2 isn't really intellectually fair. Retroactive morality is a fun way to make yourself feel superior to guys who lived and died in ages of different sensibilities, but it's not all that useful.

              Theodore Roosevelt was a raging racist asshole genocidal war criminal too, but he still got a Nobel Peace Prize and a spot on Rushmore after publicl

        • Other than being a crook and a war criminal, he wasn't such a bad president.

          I know exactly what you mean but it's so funny that we live in this world.

        • We have recorded conversations of Nixon with the Kaiser Permanente people to coordinate modifications to american's retirement, health and savings patterns. Of course, Kaiser made bazillions and the american citizen got screwed. Nixon was also the 1st president to cozy up to China. I mean, he did so many things that were bad for US citizens it's not even funny.
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Busman85 ( 8485281 )

        Nixon doesn't deserve so much credit for the EPA. He was going with the trends at the time-- he couldn't oppose every single thing the public wanted... The LAW which did it was passed UNANIMOUSLY in the senate and all Nixon really did is create a department to carry out that law so he could get some credit for a law that easily surpassed his veto powers.

        Nixon fought the Clean Water Act-- and the HUDSON RIVER CAUGHT ON FIRE! burning water way! The EPA was more damage control for somebody bound for jail.

      • Why does this myth keep coming up. Nixon streamlined the existing environmental agencies that were corrupt and useless and created under into the EPA, however the EPA then was not even implemented because Democrats didnâ(TM)t like it. The EPA was not given any authority until much later under Clinton. Similar to how GWB streamlined the FBI, ICE etc into Homeland Security and Obama extended its powers.

    • After all, why expect our overlords to clean up their messes when us mere peons have perfectly good livers*

      *I have no idea if livers are capable of expelling this junk from the body. I take it that by "forever" chemical, the answer is probably no.

      • Even things the liver can filter can bioaccumulate to some degree. I think the real concern is they don't naturally break down past a certain point, the polymers are very resilient. We've kind of got the same situation going as the planet had before fungi and bacteria evolved to break down cellulose, there's nothing in the environment to deal with this stuff. So even if our bodies can filter it slowly, the input dosage is ever increasing. And we don't have a good handle on if they cause health issues. What

    • This is just going to be one more fight in the series of "polluter pays" fights that have been going on for 25 years now.

      These companies already externalized the costs of their pollution by dumping this shit into the environment instead of responsibly handling it.

      Now they want to externalize the cost of cleaning up their mess. Same as it ever was, same as it ever will be.

  • Disgusting (Score:5, Insightful)

    by yagmot ( 7519124 ) on Wednesday June 12, 2024 @11:04PM (#64545431)

    Imagine being a young person interested in the law, hoping to make a decent living and maybe do some good, and then you end up here. Is the paycheck worth knowing that you're actively fighting to allow this company to poison the earth, cause birth defects, cancer, and other terrible harms, not just to your fellow citizens, but to your own friends and family?

    • Attorneys live by a different concept of ethics than us normal people. Offering the best defense for a client is considered the point of being a lawyer, and not only does their legal team not lose any sleep over it. They likely are patting themselves on the back for being such great human beings.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Unfortunately we do need lawyers who are willing to argue on behalf of evil. It's particularly necessary in criminal trials to give us confidence that justice was done, that even the worst people had a fair trial and opportunity to defend their actions.

        The way to fix this is to change the law to make it clear that "it costs too much" is not an excuse to ignore other people's right to clean water.

        • by HiThere ( 15173 )

          The adversarial system is a horrible parody of what justice should be. It's explicitly designed to favor the rich and powerful

          OTOH, given human nature (and bureaucracy) it's not clear what system would be better.

          • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            Something about the US system seems to be particularly bad. We have an adversarial system in the UK, and in fact almost all developed nations do, but somehow we manage to control costs a bit and ensure that proceedings are at least somewhat fair despite massive wealth disparities.

            Don't get me wrong, it's still far from ideal, but it's nothing like the US where being very wealthy gives you a massive and almost insurmountable advantage.

    • Re:Disgusting (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Wednesday June 12, 2024 @11:11PM (#64545443)

      I doubt if many idealists become lawyers.

      Lawyers designed the regulations to consume billions of dollars, not fixing the problem, but suing each other.

      The lawyers are not the good guys here.

      • Re:Disgusting (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Morromist ( 1207276 ) on Thursday June 13, 2024 @12:07AM (#64545543)

        You're right, but have you ever talked to a lawyer? They really do think of themselves as heros - at least the ones I know.

        They constantly say that the Law is just, the court system is good, judges are all honorable, the supreme court is to be respected, and any problems you might see are small abberations. The fact that it takes a lot of money to afford legal representation, so that the poor are often unable to properly defend themselves doesn't seem to bother them. The fact that Black people make up almost half of the state prison population but only about 13% of the U.S population doesn't seem to bother them.

        I'm sure there are a lot of good lawyers out there too, but it seems to me like they live in a fantasy world.

        • Males make up about 50% of the population, but the vast majority of the prison population. If you merely point at the disproportionate number of black prisoners, you're ignoring this 800lb gorilla. If you offer a socialisation model for male overrepresentation, then the same logic helps explain the overrepresentation of blacks... ;)

        • by RobinH ( 124750 )
          I appreciate all the points you make, but it needs to be said that having a legal system based on written down laws where nobody is above the law is much, much better than having a monarch, or dictator, or other ruling body (like the CCP) that decides on a whim who is right and is literally above the law and can never be held accountable. Yes, this system has flaws that we should work to address, but please stop ignoring how much better this is than where we started.
      • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

        Lawyers designed the regulations to consume billions of dollars

        The Trans Pacific Partnership allows companies to sue governments that affect their business interests. You will also find that the treaty allow for companies to sue for lost projected profits. In reading a sixth the TPP (it's 6000 pages!) I found it was full of corporate language as opposed to the specifically defined ways lawyers write legislation.

        Previously business would have to deal with the legislation as a function of capitalism and evolve their business model as the market demands. This exampl

        • Re:Disgusting (Score:4, Informative)

          by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Thursday June 13, 2024 @01:58AM (#64545645)

          The Trans Pacific Partnership allows companies to sue governments

          The TPP died eight years ago without ever being ratified.

          I have no idea why you think it is relevant to the EPA's regulations on PFAS.

          • The TPP died eight years ago without ever being ratified.

            I have no idea why you think it is relevant to the EPA's regulations on PFAS.

            We're now on a thread Multiple other international trade treaties have similar language, including EU treaties and NAFTA. This is one of the standard ways that corporations fight against future environmental improvement. MrKaos seems to be suggesting that the corporate people would get their language into the law even without the lawyers. Right now they are stacking the US supreme court with pro-corporate / anti-people judges by making sure that Democrat presidents can't put in most of their candidates and

          • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

            The Trans Pacific Partnership allows companies to sue governments

            You're right - my bad and I'm glad. For some reason I thought it was resurrected.

            The TPP died eight years ago without ever being ratified.

            I have no idea why you think it is relevant to the EPA's regulations on PFAS.

            It triggered a memory in me of the worst case consequences of Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanisms [wikipedia.org]. It would seem that reading the TPP has scarred me.

      • It seems to me that a system of justice so complex that you need special representation just to get through it is fundamentally broken. Just think about the arcane rules followed during a trial that don't make sense to non-lawyers.

        Lawyers built the system for themselves, and the worst part is that it has the unlimited power of the State behind it.

      • I doubt if many idealists become lawyers.

        You are way off. There are lots of idealist lawyers, public sector attorney positions are the lowest paying and and also the most competitive.

        The ones that the parent is talking about are the rich ones.

    • And sometimes, your lawyer also successfully sues big Pharma for irreversible injury to your body, and gets you settlements in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions . Ask me how I know. In private lol.

  • If only capitalism had some kind of check or balance in order to prevent big money corporations from fighting against basic human rights in favor of profit. Last time I checked access to clean drinking water was not a privilege.
    • by gtall ( 79522 )

      This is the result to declaring companies persons. Now a company that pollutes can be treated like a neighbor that let's his dog out at night to bark himself silly at the mailbox, a garbage can, the moon, etc.

  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Wednesday June 12, 2024 @11:32PM (#64545479)
    a right wing think tank, spent 40 years packing the courts with pro corporate judges?

    You might not, but your plastic filled ball sack will.
    • by haruchai ( 17472 ) on Thursday June 13, 2024 @01:35AM (#64545631)

      The right wing has been stacking the courts at every level since Reagan.
      Even if the GOP never wins another election, the conservatives will be able to strangle progress via the courts beyond 2050

      • Even if the GOP never wins another election, the conservatives will be able to strangle progress via the courts beyond 2050

        Yeah. Would that we could arrange for another kind of strangling to occur. You know, the kind that rights institutional wrongs such as the one you just described.

        • Honestly violence doesn't solve anything. The right wing are much better at it because violence works best when it's organized and the right wing are fundamentally about obedience and taking orders.

          That's the deal when you join the right wing. You have to obey everyone above you. But you get to shit all over anyone beneath you.
      • So Thomas and alito are both extremely vulnerable because they have committed acts of criminal bribery.

        Now we don't spill the blood of kings in this country so they're not going to get punished per se but what will happen is after the election if they still hold the Senate the Democrats will begin investigations. It's kind of hard to keep taking bribes when you're under investigation for bribery and both men are at the end of their lives so they will retire to cash out.

        That will give the Democrats a 5
        • by Burdell ( 228580 )

          Dream on. There's no way they retire (unless there's a Republican President and Senate majority), they'll die on the bench. The Senate alone can't touch them and they know it. The "appointed for life" clause was meant to reduce partisanship, but instead has made the court (and appointment process) extremely partisan.

  • by locater16 ( 2326718 ) on Wednesday June 12, 2024 @11:51PM (#64545519)
    -if that's what it takes to get 1 shareholder another yach!
  • by cats-paw ( 34890 ) on Thursday June 13, 2024 @12:26AM (#64545557) Homepage

    These companies are doing this because they can judge shop to get judges appointed by Trump to rule in their favor.

    Then after tying it up in court for years when it gets to the supreme court they'll know they're getting the ruling they want.

    Tell me again how we're over regulated ?

    Small entities may be over regulated but that's only because the laws we pass to try to get big entities to not be fuckheads can fight it in court for years.

    The small entities can't.

    But why are those regulations passed in the first place, yeah to try, TRY and regulate the Dow chemicals of the world.

  • by NotEmmanuelGoldstein ( 6423622 ) on Thursday June 13, 2024 @12:41AM (#64545577)
    When the government reduces corporate welfare, corporations [slashdot.org] demand the government shake-down someone else.

    When the government demands corporations pick-up their 'rubbish', that's "exceeding its authority".

    • It is not just to fine me for having driven, five years ago, at 70, down a road that was recently given a 30mph speed limit.

      At SOME point it is not fair to punish the shareholders for behaviour that was totally legal and acceptable decades ago.

      There is a tension here, and unless you accept that you will be acting unjustly. Having said that - of course big Tobacco should have been hit, probably harder, for its sales of cigarettes, because they knew there was a problem etc etc....

      • > of course big Tobacco should have been hit, probably harder, for its sales of cigarettes, because they knew there was a problem etc etc....

        These guys knew too.

      • by laughing_badger ( 628416 ) on Thursday June 13, 2024 @07:14AM (#64545965) Homepage

        Shareholders aren't being punished. They knew upon investing that risk was involved, and they did their due diligence on the risk profile of the company due to their business practices. They also monitored the evolution of that risk. If they are still invested, they have accepted the risk that this may happen.

        We need to get away from this concept that all profits made should be entirely private and that all risk taken while generating them should be socialised onto other people.

      • There is a long history that clearly demonstrates that these companies often know how dangerous their products are LONG before anyone else. The oil industry knew the dangers of leaded gas for many years before it was banned. DuPont knew for decades that the chemicals in Teflon were dangerous. Tobacco companies knew better than anyone about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. These companies know that it's far better to know the problems in advance so that they're already prepared to control the narrative
        • Riding a bicycle is dangerous; I do so regularly, and a friend is currently in plaster from a serious accident. Driving a car is dangerous for pedestrians. At some point we have to accept that the risk is worth the benefit.

          In that context claiming that a company 'knew' that a product was dangerous is not straight forward. How much evidence do you have to produce? We're not talking the thalidomide disaster where there was a massive spike in the number of children being born with missing limbs or bits of limb

  • ... like not using PFAS at all, or using some kind of closed loop so contaminates don't end up being pumped into rivers, the sea or groundwater.

    • by gtall ( 79522 )

      This supported by bean counters in companies the world over. When one widget leave manufacturing, they count One. Tying a tether to it and mange it when it comes back screws up their spreadsheets.

    • Closed loop? The problem with these chemicals (and most others) is that they defy containment. They leach into water, which goes down the drain and ends up in rivers and streams. The same is true for drugs - they are in our wastewater, which ends up in the environment. A closed loop system (yes, technically Earth is a closed loop) would cycle up contaminants even faster so it requires even more filtration.

      In this Case, and most others, industry has decided "the solution to pollution is dilution".

      • >(yes, technically Earth is a closed loop)

        Boy, do I have a technicality to share with you...

        Earth gets inputs mostly from the Sun, but is also taking on dust and the occasional rock or comet from the rest of the Solar system. And the Solar wind is blowing off atmosphere all the time. And we get hit with cosmic rays and stuff constantly. And the crust and oceans are moved by lunar and solar tides.

        Does this significantly affect the environmental cycle of PFAS? Other than sunlight breaking the stuff dow

      • by DrXym ( 126579 )

        They certainly do leach and industries will piss and moan about regs to capture it. But if nuclear reactors can be held to a certain standard then other producers of hazardous waste should be as well. Nothing is infallible, and accidents / negligence happen but they should be held to the highest standard by law. As for PFAS, they can be decomposed with heat, even while held in water so I would expect that it is viable to capture, decompose and concentrate / recover products in a manner where they are not re

        • Thermal destruction of PFAS requires reaching temperatures up to 1000ÂC, so I don't know how you are thinking it can be done aqueously. It's too energy intensive to be economical. And since PFAS are occurring in PPM or lower levels, you already will have to concentrate them up somehow.

    • by HiThere ( 15173 )

      Closed loops are always difficult. A far better choice is to ATTEMPT a closed loop, knowing it will have only partial success, and simultaneously avoid using anything that is not either biodegradable to something safe or is itself something safe.

      Note that this will not always be possible, but durable pollution should be sufficiently expensive that it will be strenuously avoided. (In this sense I do not count it as pollution if it's a normal part of the ecological cycle...e.g. CO2. There are arguments tha

      • I don't think it's that difficult at all. I'm old enough to remember when the use of plastics, for *any* purpose, was avoided. It carried a strong stigma of cheapness and shoddy construction. The dominant materials back then were things like glass, metals, wood, rubber, paper, etc etc etc. All of which are easily recycled, and they were.

  • Where directly after denying the science of the safety risk, they're offered some water from the source they insist is safe.
    • by HiThere ( 15173 )

      This is a sufficiently low intensity risk that they could safely drink the water. It's chronic exposure that's the problem, not acute exposure.

      • Yes, but they'll hesitate. And you'll see them hesitate. And they'll see you seeing them hesitate. Small victories add up.
    • by Mal-2 ( 675116 )

      Or possibly more familiar to this crowd, when Marge served Blinky the three-eyed fish to Mr. Burns.

  • It is doubtful that Chemical and manufacturing groups have standing to sue since they has no direct financial impact to their business. This rule is for the municipals. I think they are afraid of being sued for the costs by the municipals for the contaminate removal. They are also worried about public awareness as their members face class action lawsuits.
  • Why give a shit about peoples' health when there's money to make?
  • Of course they're suing. Lawyers aren't cheap, but that's peanuts compared to having to chemically extract all the urine out of the planet-sized swimming pool they've been pissing in continuously for seventy years now.
  • by John Allsup ( 987 ) <slashdot@cha l i s q ue.net> on Thursday June 13, 2024 @02:17PM (#64547257) Homepage Journal

    When the economy is organised around corporations whose only essential purpose is to make profit, what do people expect to happen? If people become ill due to forever chemicals, that is just a sales opportunity for Big Pharma.

  • American Chemistry Council and the National Association of Manufacturers are suing to continue to poison us in the name of the Almighty Dollar. I recommend long prison sentences for these sacks of offal posing as humans and bankrupting both of organizations. Let Justice be DONE!
  • I've watched a few documentaries on PFA related issues lately. If you feel like being both horrified and livid at the same time, they're a good choice.

    This lawsuit is couched in more mundane legal issues, but I still find it very impressive that the lawyers and executives responsible can actually look themselves in the mirror every day knowing the history of what has gone on with these chemicals. Participating in this lawsuit puts you in a group with a truly remarkable group of scumbags and outright crimi

  • How dare you stop us from killing our fellow citizens for fun and profit! Boo.

If you teach your children to like computers and to know how to gamble then they'll always be interested in something and won't come to no real harm.

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