MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - Clean Water Action Minnesota, home of Amara’s Law, congratulates the State of California and our partner office, Clean Water Action California, on the successful passage of Senate Bill 682. This legislation phases out unnecessary uses of PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in numerous consumer products with full implementation by 2031. We wholeheartedly urge Governor Newsom to sign this life-saving piece of legislation.
Authored by Senator Ben Allen, SB 682 will make cookware, food packaging, juvenile products, dental floss, cleaning products, and ski wax safer for California consumers by prohibiting the sale of any of these items that contain intentionally-added PFAS.
California is the world’s fourth-largest economy, and this legislation, with Governor Newsom’s signature, is a major step forward for public health and environmental protection for the entire country.
PFAS chemicals—whose chemistry was discovered in the late 1930s, and which have been widely used since the 1950s—have been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, harm to the immune system, reproductive harm, pregnancy complications, and other serious health effects.
“Amara’s Law is the strongest ban on PFAS in consumer products in the country. Minnesota understands the intense lobbying efforts California endured by chemical interests trying to preserve the use of toxic ‘forever chemicals,’ and I am so proud of the work California did to stand up for the health of its residents and the environment,” said Avonna Starck, State Director of Clean Water Action Minnesota.
Clean Water Action has long pushed for bold PFAS regulation nationwide. With 13 field offices across the country, the organization engages with lawmakers in many states to support strong restrictions on PFAS chemicals. California’s leadership in protecting its people and its water is inspiring.
“We see Minnesota’s example helping pave the way, but our work is not done. Chemical industry lobbyists are pushing for weak PFAS bans, which too often leaves states bearing the cost of clean-up. Our message is clear: instead of defending and investing in the continued use of hazardous chemicals, use that time and money to develop safer alternatives,” said Starck.
Dana Strande’s daughter Amara Strande spent the last few months of her life fighting for PFAS restrictions at the Minnesota legislature before her cancer-related death in 2023. These restrictions are now known as Amara’s Law. “Congratulations California! Thank you, Governor Newsom, for choosing to protect people and the environment from forever chemicals. Having lost a 20-year-old daughter, Amara, our family is determined to put an end to PFAS contamination,” Dana Strande said.
Former Representative Jeff Brand, who authored Amara’s Law in the Minnesota House of Representatives added, “Legislators in state after state are doing the hard work of representing their constituents and showing them that they care for their wellbeing. Together, we can have these protections from sea to shining sea.”
Senator Judy Seeberger, who authored Amara’s Law in the Minnesota Senate added, “Our work in Minnesota banning these toxic chemicals is being noticed across the country and around the world. I am proud of the way my state has taken the lead on this issue, and I'm pleased to see the work continue in California.”
Minnesota appreciates Governor Newsom’s attention to this crisis as well. Under his leadership, California will be setting an example for the entire world that banning PFAS is the best way to protect both water quality and human health for generations to come.
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Clean Water Action is a national 501(c)(4) environmental organization with nearly one million members nationwide. Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. Learn more at cleanwater.org.
