Cash buyback
None
← Scoreboard
CA
California
No programCollected
,
Target
,
Destruction
,
Deadline
UpcomingTerminals/refineries Jan 1, 2028
Federal law applies in every state
- EPA set enforceable drinking-water limits for PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion (2024). A May 2026 proposal would keep those two, extend compliance to 2031, and rescind the others. Proposed, not final.
- Under CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), PFOA and PFOS are hazardous substances, so cleanup liability is strict, retroactive, and joint and several.
- Federally required uses at Part 139 airports and military installations follow federal rules regardless of state law.
- The Department of Defense is phasing out AFFF under the NDAA.
State law and program in California
Senate Bill 1044 (2020, Chapter 308) ↗
What's still allowed
PFAS Class B foam is banned (fixed systems since 2024); terminals/refineries must comply by Jan 1, 2028. Use must be reported to the State Fire Marshal within 5 business days. Part 139 airport and military uses remain federally governed.
How to get rid of PFAS foam
No state collection program, hold foam in sealed containers and dispose through a licensed hazardous-waste hauler.
Funding and help
There is no state takeback funding in California yet. The federal options below apply everywhere.
Federal funding, available in every state
- EPA Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant ↗, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
- Drinking Water State Revolving Fund ↗, including the infrastructure-law set-aside for emerging contaminants like PFAS.
- FAA airport foam transition support ↗ for Part 139 commercial airports moving off fluorinated foam.
- Fire departments with contaminated water may qualify as claimants in the aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) settlements.
Future plans
No state takeback announced; the 2028 terminal/refinery deadline is the next forcing date.
Destruction & vendors
No state-designated destruction vendor. Banned, with use-reporting, but no state collection program.
Official sources
California official program page ↗A note for smaller departments
Large departments and municipalities usually have legal counsel and a budget to manage PFAS liability. Small and volunteer departments often do not. That makes a documented chain of custody and a certificate of destruction the strongest protection a small department has: proof that the foam was handled lawfully and never released. See liability and litigation.
⚠ Never discharge PFAS foam. Keep the certificate of destruction.
Firefighting foam containing PFAS cannot lawfully be released anywhere: not overboard, in a harbor or slip, down a drain or sewer, onto the ground, or into an ordinary landfill. Under CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), PFOA and PFOS are hazardous substances, and disposal liability is strict, retroactive, and joint and several, so whoever sent the waste can be billed for the cleanup years later. Keep the certificate of destruction: if you cannot document that the foam was destroyed, you cannot prove where it went, and foam you cannot account for can be treated as a release to the environment, with the liability that follows. EPA / CERCLA ↗