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Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has rejected three recent applications seeking currently unavoidable use (CUU) exemptions from the state’s PFAS-in-products law.
The decisions, confirmed to Chemical Watch News & Insight this week, reinforce Maine’s high bar for approving exemptions from its PFAS law after regulators granted only two of 11 first round CUU requests last year.
Maine’s law restricts intentionally added PFAS in a variety of product categories, culminating in a prohibition on most goods from 2032.
However, the law allows companies to obtain a CUU exemption if regulators determine the use of PFAS in a specific product is essential for "health, safety or the functioning of society" and there are no alternatives.
The DEP rejected the bulk of CUU submissions from the first round of requests last year, saying many applicants relied on broad claims about the lack of PFAS alternatives and failed to demonstrate that the products themselves were essential.
The latest round – in which regulators denied all three applications – suggests the department will continue to apply a stringent interpretation of CUU requirements when evaluating exemption requests.
Latest submissions ‘unreasonable’
The rejected second-round CUU proposals included two requests from one company seeking to continue using PFAS in small kitchen appliances and cookware, and one submission from another company seeking an exemption for "coffee system components", according to the department.
The DEP rejected the applications, telling Chemical Watch News & Insight that "a lack of comprehensive supporting documentation, coupled with evidence of functional alternatives already available in the marketplace, made it unreasonable for the department to move forward with rulemaking".
The next major test for the CUU process begins in 2027, when manufacturers may start seeking exemptions for products covered by the state’s broad 2032 prohibitions that apply to nearly all consumer goods.
The DEP previously said it intends to group future CUU determinations into a single annual rulemaking cycle.