PFAS Waste Disposal and Destruction: CERCLA Arranger Liability, Vendor Selection, Contract Risk Allocation
Evaluating Disposal Methods, Downstream Facilities, and Treatment Performance
About the Course
Introduction
This CLE webinar will discuss managing the liability connected to disposal and destruction of PFAS-containing waste. The panel will address how to evaluate disposal providers and methods, negotiate contractual protections, and understand the records necessary to document successful performance.
Description
PFAS-containing waste can create ongoing liability after the waste leaves a generator's facility for destruction and/or disposal. PFOA and PFOS are CERCLA hazardous substances, potentially exposing generators to arranger liability for their disposal or treatment and underscoring the importance of evaluating where waste will be sent and how it will be managed. Selecting a permitted facility and obtaining indemnity can help to manage risk, but these do not eliminate a generator's potential statutory liability.
EPA's 2026 interim guidance provides recommendations covering and evaluating landfilling, thermal treatment, and underground injection. It provides a framework for assessing emerging technologies, but stops short of establishing binding disposal requirements. Counsel must also determine whether state law restricts the proposed disposal method and whether a proposed facility is authorized and willing to accept the particular waste.
Waste service agreements should define the provider's obligations and protections available if disposal plans or performance change. Counsel must evaluate indemnity and insurance and address the use of downstream facilities. Access to treatment data and supporting records is also important to evaluating performance, since a certificate of destruction alone may not establish that the provider met its obligations.
Listen as our panel discusses evaluating PFAS disposal and destruction arrangements and negotiating provisions to allocate and mitigate client risk. The panel will also address documenting disposal decisions and responding to challenges or failures in meeting contractual obligations.
Presented By
Mr. Troxler is a registered professional environmental engineer and has over 40 years of experience in the environmental services industry. He is primarily responsible for the management of large, complex projects that use thermal treatment systems to treat hazardous or non-hazardous waste materials or contaminated soils. These projects have primarily been conducted for clients in the waste management, organic chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, aerospace, tire & rubber, aluminum, utility, and site remediation industries. Mr. Troxler’s expertise includes virtually all aspects of design and implementation of thermal treatment projects. This experience includes conducting waste characterization studies, preparing feasibility studies and process design packages, preparing regulatory submittals, evaluating proposals from equipment vendors, developing capital and operating cost estimates, providing oversight of plant detailed design and fabrication, training plant operators, providing oversight of plant operations, planning and managing performance tests, and conducting hazards and operability studies.
Ms. Waite counsels clients on environmental matters, particularly pertaining to the manufacturing, transportation, and food and agribusiness sectors. She focuses her practice on helping clients achieve and maintain compliance with all manner of state and federal environmental laws. Ms. Waite helps clients navigate environmental permitting challenges and fulfill reporting obligations, all with an eye toward mitigating enforcement and litigation risks. She frequently advises clients on emerging contaminants and other chemicals of concern, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalates and 1,4-Dioxane. Ms. Waite also helps clients navigate new and dynamic regulatory requirements such as those for extended producer responsibility (EPR); environmental, social and governance (ESG); postconsumer recycled content (PCR); environmental benefit claims (greenwashing); greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and recycling. In courts and before the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, she regularly defends clients in state and federal enforcement actions and represents responsible parties as they investigate and remediate environmental impacts. Ms. Waite litigates toxic torts, commercial disputes and citizens’ suits alleging noncompliance with these underlying regulations.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Tuesday, December 1, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. PFAS waste and CERCLA liability: classification, PFOA/PFOS designation, arranger/transporter liability
II. Evaluating disposal methods and providers: EPA guidance, state restrictions, facility authorization
III. Waste service agreements: provider obligations, indemnity, insurance, remedies
IV. Documenting/evaluating performance: supporting records, responding to failures
V. Practitioner takeaways
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- When may arranging for PFAS waste disposal or treatment expose a client to CERCLA liability?
- How can counsel use EPA's guidance to evaluate a proposed disposal method and provider?
- Which contractual protections are most important when waste may pass through multiple facilities?
- How should counsel evaluate whether indemnity and insurance provide meaningful protection?
- What records and treatment data should counsel obtain to assess the provider's performance?
Related Courses
PFAS Waste Disposal and Destruction: CERCLA Arranger Liability, Vendor Selection, Contract Risk Allocation
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1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
Waters of the United States After Sackett: Navigating Regulatory Uncertainty
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