New Mexico PFAS has been passed as one of the country’s most comprehensive responses to “forever chemicals.” In April 2025, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed two PFAS bills: HB 212 (the PFAS Protection Act) and HB 140 (treating PFAS-containing firefighting foams as hazardous waste). Together, they phase out intentionally added PFAS in consumer products on a specified timeline and provide the state with additional tools to regulate and clean up PFAS, particularly from firefighting foams.
PFAS toxicity and contamination are not hypothetical here. New Mexico regulators detail very high levels of PFAS in wildlife and plants in the area of Lake Holloman (near Holloman Air Force Base) and widespread effects near Cannon Air Force Base on private wells and agriculture, including the destruction of thousands of dairy cows after groundwater contamination. These hotspots are among the primary motivations behind the state’s legislative push for stricter laws.
The state has also maintained pressure on federal facilities: in June–July 2025, New Mexico filed a new lawsuit and requested a court order to compel access and cleanup at Cannon AFB.
HB 212 tackles intentionally added PFAS in consumer products with a multi-year phaseout. Highlights:
PFAS are prohibited in products such as cookware, food packaging, and juvenile products.
Additional categories are included, such as:
All non-exempt products that contain intentionally added PFAS are banned from sale in New Mexico. The bill also provides for consumer education/labeling of products that contain intentionally added PFAS during the transition.
Exemptions are for necessary uses (e.g., certain medical, electronic, semiconductor, laboratory, refrigerant, automotive, and in-state manufacturing applications).
It requires periodic inventories of PFAS-containing firefighting foams and limits their use to emergency responses.
HB 140 gives New Mexico the power to designate discarded PFAS-containing AFFF (aqueous film-forming foams) as state hazardous waste—even if not listed federally. That adjustment is important for enforcement and cost recovery: it prevents confusion on roles, allows the state to require appropriate cleanup and management, and shifts costs from taxpayers to polluters.
EPA completed nationwide PFAS drinking water standards in April 2024: MCLs of 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, and 10 ppt for PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (GenX), and a hazard index for mixtures (PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA, PFBS). Public water systems must complete initial monitoring by April 2027, then meet compliance requirements based on those results.
The New Mexico Drinking Water Bureau is implementing these rules and reporting. Keep in mind that private domestic wells are not covered by the Safe Drinking Water Act; testing is at the discretion of the owner.
New Mexico has been sampling under UCMR5 (2023–2025) and through state/USGS campaigns. Through 2024, PFAS were detected at ~23% of sampled systems, with MCL exceedances at ~6%—numbers that guide treatment needs going forward.
Identify intentionally added PFAS by product lines and components; prioritize categories with 2027/2028 deadlines.
Update your material disclosure program; require PFAS attestations and supporting information (e.g., analytical reports where risk is high).
Evaluate alternatives to coatings, surfactants, water- and oil-repellents, and sealants. Pilot performance and aging tests early.
If your products will contain PFAS during the transition (and are permitted), develop compliant labeling and consumer-facing materials.
Inventory foams, limit to emergency use, and arrange for compliant disposal pathways; budget for possible cleanup liabilities.
If you have a PWS, plan monitoring, identify treatment options (GAC, ion exchange, RO), and arrange financing. Private well owners should consider voluntary testing.
Expect vigorous enforcement and litigation—particularly near federal facilities—and continued public-health alerting as new information emerges (e.g., wildlife near Holloman AFB). For business and utilities, that means documentation and swift action are your best risk reducers.
New Mexico’s 2025 PFAS laws bring to bear clarity and specific timelines: product bans come in phases starting in 2027, expand in 2028, and finish with a sweeping 2032 ban (with selective exceptions). Throw in hazardous-waste authority over AFFF and EPA’s countrywide drinking water criteria, and the message is unmistakable—phase out PFAS where you can, regulate them aggressively where you can’t, and document everything.
Need support through your product PFAS strategy? Contact Enviropass!