Connecticut

Active program

Cash buyback

None

Collected

35,300 gal

2021–22

Target

Destruction

Not specified

Deadline

PassedTraining ban Jul 2021

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.

Federal law in full Liability and litigation

State law and program in Connecticut

Public Act 21-191, codified at C.G.S. section 22a-903a (2021) ↗

What's still allowed

Training use was banned July 2021 and most other AFFF uses October 2021; Part 139 airport and military uses remain federally governed.

How to get rid of PFAS foam

Phase 1 of the DEEP/DESPP take-back collected concentrate from 250+ departments. A separate $3M grant reimburses municipalities for apparatus decontamination performed after July 1, 2023.

Funding and help

Collection and destruction run through the Connecticut program; check the official page for what the state covers.

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

Later phases focus on decontamination/reimbursement; the DEEP page has not published a 2025–26 collection update.

Destruction & vendors

Foam in Connecticut is handled by: Not specified. 250+ depts. Separate $3M grant reimburses apparatus decontamination (not per-gallon).

Official sources

Connecticut 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 ↗

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