New York PFAS regulations combine enforceable drinking water limits, product bans covering food packaging, apparel, and cosmetics, restrictions on firefighting foam, and site cleanup rules — with federal drinking water standards, Superfund liability, and reporting duties layered on top. If you run a water system, sell consumer goods in the state, operate a facility that used PFAS, or manufacture or import chemicals or finished products, you are almost certainly touched by one of these programs.
Drinking Water Limits for Public Water Systems
The New York Department of Health enforces maximum contaminant levels of 10 parts per trillion for both PFOA and PFOS in public water supplies.1New York State Department of Health. Public Water Systems and Drinking Water Standards for PFAS These 2020 limits are codified in 10 NYCRR Section 5-1.52.2New York State Department of Health. 10 NYCRR Part 5 – Drinking Water Supplies When a water supplier detects PFOA or PFOS above the MCL, it must take steps to protect public health, including remedial feasibility studies and treatment such as granular activated carbon or ion exchange.3Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 10 5-1.51 – Maximum Contaminant Levels, Maximum Residual Disinfectant Levels and Treatment Technique Requirements
The Federal Standard Is Stricter
In April 2024, the EPA finalized national drinking water standards setting the MCL for PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion each. Public water systems nationwide must complete initial monitoring by 2027 and reach full compliance by 2029.4US EPA. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Until then, New York systems still have to meet the state’s 10 ppt threshold.1New York State Department of Health. Public Water Systems and Drinking Water Standards for PFAS
A supplier meeting the state’s 10 ppt limit today is not done. The stricter 4 ppt federal number applies by 2029, and the Safe Drinking Water Act does not shield water systems from having to meet the federal requirement once it kicks in.
Ban on PFAS in Food Packaging
Since December 31, 2022, it has been illegal to sell or distribute food packaging containing intentionally added PFAS in New York.5New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. PFAS In Food Packaging Under Environmental Conservation Law Section 37-0203, food packaging means any package or component intended for direct food contact made substantially from paper, paperboard, or other plant-fiber materials.6New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law 37-0203 Grease-resistant fast-food wrappers and paperboard takeout containers are the typical examples.
The prohibition targets chemicals added for a functional purpose, such as oil or moisture resistance, not incidental trace contamination from manufacturing. Retailers and distributors share responsibility for keeping noncompliant packaging off shelves.
Ban on PFAS in Apparel
Environmental Conservation Law Section 37-0121 prohibits the sale of new clothing containing intentionally added PFAS. The ban took effect January 1, 2025 for everyday apparel, defined broadly to cover undergarments, shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, overalls, bodysuits, vests, dancewear, suits, scarves, leggings, leisurewear, formal wear, outdoor apparel, onesies, bibs, and diapers.7New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law 37-0121 – Prohibition Against the Use of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Apparel and Outdoor Apparel for Severe Wet Conditions
A second phase adds a concentration-based limit that does not depend on intent. By January 1, 2027, or one year after the Department of Environmental Conservation finalizes regulations if that comes sooner, sellers cannot offer new apparel with PFAS above the concentration level the department sets.7New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law 37-0121 – Prohibition Against the Use of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Apparel and Outdoor Apparel for Severe Wet Conditions
What Sits Outside the 2025 Deadline
Two categories are treated differently:
- Professional protective equipment — uniforms worn to protect against health or environmental hazards, including PPE — is exempt from the apparel ban entirely.7New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Law 37-0121 – Prohibition Against the Use of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Apparel and Outdoor Apparel for Severe Wet Conditions
- Outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions — gear designed for outdoor sports experts to protect against extended exposure to extreme rain or immersion in water or snow, and not marketed for general consumer use — has a delayed deadline of January 1, 2028.8New York State Senate. New York Environmental Conservation Code 37-0121 – Prohibition Against the Use of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Apparel and Outdoor Apparel for Severe Wet Conditions
The line matters at retail. A rain jacket sold to hikers at a general outdoor store is everyday outdoor apparel, already covered by the 2025 ban. A mountaineering shell built for extended alpine expeditions and marketed to professionals falls under the 2028 deadline.
Ban on PFAS in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
An amendment to Environmental Conservation Law Section 37-0117 prohibits intentionally added PFAS in cosmetics and personal care products sold in New York, effective June 1, 2026.9New York State Senate. NY State Senate Bill 2025-S3205 The law uses the same definition of PFAS found throughout the state’s environmental statutes: any fluorinated organic chemical containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. Because compliance lands mid-year, manufacturers and retailers should be reviewing formulations well ahead of that date.
Pending Bill Covering More Consumer Products
Legislation introduced in 2025 as Senate Bill S9073-A and Assembly Bill A7738 would add a new Environmental Conservation Law Section 37-0123 extending the PFAS prohibition to textile articles including handbags, luggage, footwear, curtains, and upholstery, along with rugs, cookware, fabric treatments, ski waxes, architectural paints, cleaning products, and dental floss. The proposed effective date is January 1, 2028, with civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day for a first violation and $2,500 for subsequent violations.10New York State Senate. NY State Senate Bill 2025-S9073A The bill has not been signed into law and is not enforceable.
Firefighting Foam Restrictions
New York restricts Class B firefighting foam containing PFAS through two statutes. General Municipal Law Section 204-g bars local governments, fire districts, fire companies, and similar entities from discharging or using PFAS foam for training.11New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, General Municipal Law – GMU 204-g General Business Law Section 391-u extends the same training prohibition to private parties and state agencies, and prohibits manufacturers from making, selling, or distributing PFAS foam in the state. The manufacturing and sales ban took effect two years after the statute’s enactment.
Facilities that still hold stockpiles have to manage storage and disposal carefully. An improper release can trigger both state enforcement and federal Superfund liability under the rules covered next.
Federal Superfund Liability for PFAS Contamination
In 2024, the EPA designated PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, and the designation remains in effect.12US EPA. PFAS Enforcement Discretion and Settlement Policy Under CERCLA The agency can now order cleanups, conduct remediation and recover costs, or draw on the Superfund Trust where no viable responsible party exists. CERCLA liability is joint and several, so a single party can be held liable for the full cost if contamination cannot be neatly divided among contributors.13Federal Register. Designation of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) as CERCLA Hazardous Substances
The EPA’s enforcement discretion policy narrows the field of realistic targets. Primary targets are PFAS manufacturers, companies that used PFAS in manufacturing, federal facilities, and other industrial parties that significantly contributed to contamination. The agency has said it does not intend to pursue farmers, municipal landfills, water utilities, municipal airports, or local fire departments where equitable factors weigh against enforcement, and it has signaled it will work with Congress to formally exempt these passive parties.12US EPA. PFAS Enforcement Discretion and Settlement Policy Under CERCLA
For a New York facility, federal Superfund action can run alongside a state DEC investigation of the same site.
TSCA Reporting for Manufacturers and Importers
Any company that has manufactured or imported PFAS or PFAS-containing products at any point since January 1, 2011 must report detailed data to the EPA under Section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The main reporting window runs from April 13, 2026 through October 13, 2026. Small businesses that only imported PFAS contained in finished articles have an extended deadline of April 13, 2027.14U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. TSCA Section 8(a)(7) Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
Reports must cover PFAS uses, production volumes, disposal practices, exposures, and hazards. Under TSCA, “manufacture” includes import, so a New York company that has brought in products with PFAS coatings or components at any time in the past 15 years may need to file even if it never made a chemical itself.
Site Investigation and Cleanup
DEC runs an active program to identify and investigate potential PFAS contamination sites across New York, performing site characterizations to determine whether a site poses a significant threat to human or environmental health. Sites that meet that threshold are listed on the state’s registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites as Class 2 sites, which triggers a full remedial investigation and feasibility study. DEC is developing soil cleanup standards for PFOA and PFOS through a rulemaking to update 6 NYCRR Part 375, which will inform the eventual cleanup thresholds applied at listed sites.15New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. PFAS Site Investigations and Cleanup
Testing and Laboratory Methods
Regulatory PFAS data has to come from validated testing. The standard analytical method is EPA Method 1633A, which covers aqueous samples (including wastewater, surface water, groundwater, and landfill leachate), soil, sediment, biosolids, and fish and shellfish tissue.16U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Method 1633A: Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous, Solid, Biosolids, and Tissue Samples by LC-MS/MS Laboratories may add PFAS compounds beyond the standard target list as analytical standards become available, without prior EPA approval.
DEC published its own technical guidance in April 2023 for sampling, analysis, and assessment of PFAS under the Part 375 remedial programs, covering field sampling procedures, data screening, imported soil testing, and reporting requirements.15New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. PFAS Site Investigations and Cleanup Confirm your lab uses these validated methods before submitting compliance data to state or federal regulators; results from non-standard approaches are unlikely to survive regulatory scrutiny.