Conservation Minnesota has worked for many years to remove toxic PFAS chemicals from our products and the environment. In 2023, we helped pass Amara’s Law, which prohibits non-essential uses of PFAS across a range of consumer products.
Recently, a bill was introduced at the state legislature to exempt a list of commercial and industrial projects from Amara’s Law. This would undermine the intent of the Law and continue to expose Minnesotans to dangerous PFAS chemicals unnecessarily.
We submitted the letter below in opposition to the repeal bill and will continue to advocate for the strictest enforcement and protections for Amara’s Laws.
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March 4, 2025
RE: HF1627 (Heintzeman)
Chair Heintzeman, and members of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee:
Conservation Minnesota writes to you today to express our opposition to HF 1627 (Heintzeman) and our concerns with rolling back Minnesota’s nation-leading ban on PFAS chemicals in consumer products.
In 2023, Minnesota passed Amara’s Law, banning non-essential use of PFAS across 11 product categories beginning this year. These bans are aimed at limiting exposure to and consumption of these chemicals through our food, water, toys, electronics, and everyday appliances.
Also called forever chemicals, PFAS chemicals do not break down naturally, and once they enter our water, soil, air and bodies, they do not go away. The negative health impacts of consuming PFAS are widely known, including an increased risk of cancer, decreased infant birth weights, and far more. Protecting our children, our water and our soil from these chemicals is one of the greatest public health issues of our time.
Minnesota has a unique relationship with PFAS, as these chemicals were manufactured here, and we have long struggled with this history. Communities across the state have felt the impact of these harmful chemicals entering their water systems, and companies like 3M have been found liable for long-term damage to human and environmental health.
The physical and environmental health impacts of PFAS chemicals are real and known, and Minnesota must not back down in this moment. HF1627 (Heintzeman) unfortunately aims to do just that, creating exemptions and extensions for commercial and industrial products to continue using forever chemicals and exposing more Minnesotans to their harmful effects.
We strongly encourage you to not support HF1627 (Heintzeman) or any bills that roll back these rules, and to protect the progress we have made in keeping PFAS chemicals out of our water, our soil, and our bodies.
Sincerely,
Nels Paulsen, Policy Director
James Lehner, Policy Associate