Press Coverage February 19, 2026

EPA Making Superfund Cleanup Decisions Faster, Attorneys Say

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Brooks M. Smith

Brooks Smith, a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s Environmental + Natural Resources Practice Group, was quoted in the February 19, 2026 Bloomberg Law article, “EPA Making Superfund Cleanup Decisions Faster, Attorneys Say.”

  • “Regarding other environmental statutes, it would be helpful if the EPA made greater efforts to require monitoring and set limits on the amounts of PFAS that are released into water,” said Brooks Smith, a partner with Troutman Pepper Locke. States are taking the lead, making it “a bit of a wild west to keep up with all these state approaches.”
  • “A proposed rule offering Clean Water Act effluent guidance and setting standards for companies making PFAS or using the chemicals in the textile and plastic industries was due to be published in January, according to the administration’s most recent regulatory agenda,” he said. But proposed standards have not yet been transmitted to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
  • “Mandated monitoring and compliance with limits are ways companies and utilities assure people they’re managing PFAS responsibly,” Smith said. “Companies that can prove they’ve complied with federal permits also have a defense against CERCLA liability,” he said.

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