Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

N.H. Lawmakers Advance PFAS Chemical Proposals In Omnibus Bill

Annie Ropeik
/
NHPR

A state Senate committee signed off this week on a package of bills designed to address PFAS chemical contamination. 

The new omnibus bill got bipartisan support and combines several proposals from the House and Senate. 

It would re-authorize the state's tight new limits on four kinds of PFAS, industrial chemicals linked to health problems. 

Regulators set the limits last year, but they were put on hold pending a legal challenge. This approach would enshrine those same limits directly into state law. 

The bill also includes $50 million for a loan fund to help towns and businesses comply with the new rules. Lawmakers expect money from future legal settlements with chemical-makers will be added to that fund.

In addition, the bill extends the legislature's commission on the Seacoast cancer cluster. And it directs insurance companies to cover blood tests for PFAS. 

Click here to read the full omnibus bill, listed as an amendment to House Bill 1264 beginning on page 5.

Annie has covered the environment, energy, climate change and the Seacoast region for NHPR since 2017. She leads the newsroom's climate reporting project, By Degrees.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.