Regulation-PFAS

Regulation

EPA, Agencies Grapple With Questions Over Low PFAS Levels In Soil

EPA is wrestling with how to address low concentrations of PFAS in soil at sites wanting to further develop, as other federal departments and state regulatory agencies are starting to focus on determining background levels of the ubiquitous class of chemicals in soil. In a speech to state waste managers last week, Steven Cook, principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s waste office, raised questions about how regulators should deal with low concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil,...

PEER Petitions EPA To Walk Back Claims That PFOA Has Been Phased Out

Environmentalists are petitioning EPA to drop statements from its website that claim that chemical manufacturers have phased out the production of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a legacy PFAS, arguing in a just-filed data quality petition that the compound is still being found in fluorinated plastic containers at the heart of long-running litigation. “It is the height of hypocrisy for EPA to pretend these chemicals are no longer being manufactured when they are permeating our chain of commerce,” said Kyla Bennett, science...

White House Clears Proposal Expected To Ease PFAS Reporting Burdens

The White House has completed its interagency review of EPA’s proposed rule that is expected to scale back reporting on PFAS-containing products, potentially easing the burden on manufacturers by introducing exemptions for certain uses that would decrease overall reporting costs. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) cleared the proposed rule, “Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Data Reporting and Recordkeeping under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Revision to Regulation,” on Oct. 24, after it was submitted Aug...

PFAS Face Uncertain Prospects In EPA Plan To Prioritize AI Chemical Reviews

Despite the Trump EPA’s announcement that it would prioritize TSCA reviews for new chemicals related to artificial intelligence (AI) and data center projects, questions remain about whether more PFAS, particularly fluoropolymers that are often used in semiconductor production, would benefit from the new prioritization. “What we don’t know is what new chemicals there are,” Lenny Siegel, a member of CHIPS Communities United, a coalition of unions, environmentalists and community groups seeking a responsible and equitable semiconductor industry, told Inside PFAS...

Waterkeeper Seeks FOIA Records On EPA’s SDWA PFAS Rule Changes

Environmentalists are questioning EPA’s transparency in its decision to delay and partially rescind landmark drinking water limits for several PFAS, filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking a range of records related to its planned rule changes, including a stalled risk assessment that may undercut agency efforts to ease the limits. Waterkeeper Alliance Oct. 21 filed a FOIA request with EPA asking for records from Jan. 20 to the present related to the agency’s drinking water rule for...

EPA Adds PFHxS Salt To TRI Reporting List, Following IRIS Toxicity Value

EPA is adding another PFAS to the list of chemicals that regulated facilities must report to the agency under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, as part of an automatic update to the inventory required by law after the agency completes a toxicity value for the chemical or undertakes certain other regulatory activities. The agency’s Oct. 7 addition of sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS-Na) to the TRI means regulated entities must now report 206 PFAS though facilities will not begin tracking their...

EPA Plans To Weigh Costs In Future CERCLA Listings, Sparking Criticism

EPA’s plan to develop a framework rule governing future designations of “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, which the agency announced it will craft after deciding to retain the Biden-era rule designating two PFAS, is raising concerns that it will adopt cost as a factor, which one environmentalist says is at odds with the law. The agency announced its plan for the framework rule alongside its surprise decision to retain the landmark rule designating two legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...

Capito Vows To ‘Continue’ Bid To Shield PFAS Receivers From CERCLA

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is welcoming EPA’s decision to retain the Biden-era Superfund rule designating two PFAS as “hazardous substances,” though she is promising to “continue” her prior efforts to protect passive receivers of PFAS from any Superfund liability. “Chairman Capito has long supported a polluter pays model to clean up PFAS contamination,” Capito’s office said in a Sept. 18 statement to Inside PFAS Policy , citing her prior public statements on the...

Optimistic Industry Groups Ramp Up Advocacy For PFAS Reporting Waivers

Industry representatives are optimistic that the Trump EPA will include several exemptions requested by industry in the agency’s revised PFAS reporting rule under TSCA that would ease burdens on regulated entities, but they are nevertheless ramping up their advocacy and urging officials to adopt a host of waivers. Several industry groups are already meeting -- or preparing to meet -- with White House officials reviewing EPA’s draft Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) proposed rule. And one lawyer said he is...

Capito Renews Support For PFAS Policies As EPA Weighs CERCLA Rule

Senate environment committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is expressing support for PFAS policies that do not impose burdens on taxpayers or essential service providers, echoing her push to shield passive receivers from Superfund liability for PFAS contamination and signaling she may be reticent to back any EPA bid to drop support for the Biden-era Superfund rule. “Senator Capito has long prioritized tackling PFAS contamination through regulations that accurately account for challenges in rural and underserved areas,” said a spokesperson...

EPA Rule Agenda Details Plans To Delay, Revise Biden-Era PFAS Measures

The Trump EPA is planning to move ahead with a number of PFAS regulatory policies initiated by the Biden administration though it is expected to scale back the stringency of some of the rulemakings and in general has slowed the schedule for issuing new PFAS rules, according to the spring 2025 Unified Agenda. Released Sept. 4, the Unified Agenda -- the first to be released during President Donald Trump’s second term -- includes plans for a host of per- and...

EPA Floats Draft Proposal To Revise, Ease TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule

The White House has begun reviewing EPA’s proposed rule that is expected to scale back the Biden-era PFAS reporting regulation under TSCA to ease burdens on manufacturers, a move that will please industry stakeholders that have long criticized the measure for imposing high costs on those entities subject to its mandates. The proposed rule, “Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Data Reporting and Recordkeeping under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Revision to Regulation” was submitted for White House Office of...

Citing Weak PFAS Rules, Advocates Ask Chip Maker To Boost Protections

Environmentalists are underscoring how federal and state regulations fail to sufficiently address the PFAS used and released in semiconductor manufacturing, contending that a chips manufacturer needs to boost its planned actions beyond minimum regulatory standards in order to mitigate PFAS from its proposed facilities in New York and prevent adverse impacts. “[T]o mitigate the serious environmental harms created by discharges of PFAS via wastewater, Micron needs to do more than ‘meet current regulatory requirements,’” Sierra Club says in an Aug...

EPA Said To Reverse Support For CERCLA PFAS Rule, Eying Repeal

A top EPA waste official appears to be steering the agency toward reversing its planned support for the Biden-era rule designating two legacy PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law after hearing industry’s objections to the landmark regulation, with Administrator Lee Zeldin likely to soon decide whether to back the new position. According to The New York Times , Steven Cook, principal deputy assistant administrator in the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), in late July met...

Lawyers Urge Pushback After ECHA Declines To Review Revised PFAS Plan

Industry lawyers are urging domestic manufacturers to resist plans by European regulators to not submit a recently released amendment to a proposed universal PFAS ban to their scientific committees for review, saying they should press officials to consider the amendment, which adds eight product categories and exempts some applications from the rule. “Industries that benefit from the new derogations should weigh in during the public consultation on the [scientific committee’s] draft opinion, lobby the [European] Commission, and potentially the [European]...

Engineers Warn Of Costly, Complex Surface Water Treatment For PFAS

Environmental engineers are advising utilities to prepare for their treatment technology needs to tackle PFAS in surface water, emphasizing how the medium is often more difficult and expensive to treat, at a time when utilities are already struggling under the regulatory uncertainty from the proposed changes to the PFAS drinking water limits. “PFAS treatment for surface water is still [] relatively uncharted territory, mostly because much of our industry’s experience in PFAS removal has been from groundwater sources,” Jihyon Im,...

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