California Takes Action on PFAS in Pesticides

On Sunday, September 27, amid a flurry of other bills recently signed into law, Governor Newsom signed AB 1603, which requires the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to publish a list of pesticides registered in California that contain PFAS, and further requires DPR to identify and describe statewide trends regarding the use of PFAS-containing pesticides.

More specifically, AB 1603 requires DPR to:

• Publicly identify pesticides containing PFAS;
• Analyze and report on use trends across the state regarding PFAS-containing pesticides; and
• Regularly update these reports when new PFAS-containing pesticides are registered, and to otherwise update these reports annually.

DPR is required to comply by the earlier of January 1, 2028 or when the pesticide use reporting database is updated with 2026 data.  

California’s AB 1603 joins a small (but growing) list of states enacting and proposing increasingly strict regulations targeting PFAS in pesticides, amid claims and complaints from environmental groups that the federal government has relaxed previously stated intentions to focus on PFAS in pesticides.  This patchwork of state-by-state PFAS bans and regulations continues to create compliance challenges for the regulated community.

It is the intent of the [California] Legislature to do both of the following:
(1) Address the use of PFAS pesticides as a class and reduce the presence of all PFAS pesticides on California-grown produce and in California’s soil, air, and water.
(2) Begin phasing out the use of PFAS pesticides and take additional steps to address other PFAS in pesticides.

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/...