Waste

From brownfields to Superfund sites, and from coal waste rules to handling hazardous waste, this section tracks EPA's efforts to tackle a wide-ranging waste agenda.

Topic Subtitle
From brownfields to Superfund sites, and from coal waste rules to handling hazardous waste, this section tracks EPA's efforts to tackle a wide-ranging waste agenda.

Judge Allows Suit Against ExxonMobil Over Plastics Recycling To Advance

A federal judge is allowing environmentalists to continue pursuing their public nuisance claim alleging ExxonMobil engaged in “deceptive public messaging” to promote recycling as a solution to plastic waste concerns, while dismissing their claim that the company violated California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL). The Sept. 5 order by Richard Seeborg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, rejects ExxonMobil’s earlier motion to dismiss the entire lawsuit, Sierra Club, et al. v. ExxonMobil Corp....

House Slated To Delay DOD’s AFFF Phaseout After Panel Blocks Amendment

The House appears slated to approve a defense authorization bill that includes provisions slowing the Defense Department’s (DOD) phase out of PFAS-containing firefighting foam after the Rules Committee rejected amendments that sought to strip the delay as well as other amendments seeking to strengthen PFAS controls. The House began floor consideration of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Sept. 9 following a Rules Committee vote the same day that only allowed one amendment related to per- and...

Citing EPA, DOJ Seeks To Delay AFFF MDL Scrutiny Of CERCLA Claims

The Justice Department (DOJ) is asking the court overseeing multi-district litigation (MDL) on PFAS contamination from firefighting foam to stay or deny consideration of a variety of Superfund cost claims, pointing in part to uncertainty over EPA’s active review of the Biden-era rule designating two PFAS as hazardous substances. In a Sept. 8 motion , DOJ asks the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to hold in abeyance Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) sections...

EPA Floats Financial Assurance Guide For ‘Good Samaritan’ Permittees

EPA is taking comment through the end of the week on a guidance clarifying the financial assurances (FA) permit applicants must demonstrate to qualify for a novel, congressionally authorized pilot program that limits environmental liabilities for so-called Good Samaritans that seek to voluntarily clean up hardrock mine sites. The agency’s draft guidance appeared in the Aug. 13 Federal Register and is open for public comments through Sept. 12. The guidance responds to lawmakers’ approval of S. 2781 , which...

Reversing Lower Court, 9th Circuit Revives Washington Tribes’ NRD Suit

The 9th Circuit is restoring a Washington tribe’s previously dismissed Superfund natural resource damages (NRD) suit against Canadian mining company Teck Cominco Metals, agreeing with the tribe that while such claims are only available to address injury to natural resources, those can apply to cases where lost uses have a cultural dimension. Judge Ronald Gould of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a Sept. 3 opinion in an interlocutory appeal in the suit Confederated Tribes of...

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...

States Doubt EPA’s PFAS Priority, Sparking Pushback From Top Official

SANTA FE, NM -- Some state officials are questioning EPA’s level of commitment to addressing PFAS pollution, particularly regarding policies on how best to destroy the chemicals, and are suggesting that states should take the lead on the issue, though a top EPA waste official is defending the agency’s approach. The concerns -- expressed during the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) fall meeting here -- also come as some states are expressing concern that the Trump EPA might reverse...

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 Plans Oil & Gas ELG Revision As Part Of Broad Deregulatory Agenda

EPA’s Spring 2025 Unified Agenda announces a new rulemaking that could potentially broaden the reach of effluent limitations for the oil and gas extraction category, which currently only allows discharges of produced water in areas west of the 98th meridian, the geographic dividing line between East and West. The measure appears to be the only new rulemaking in the agency’s Sept. 4 unified agenda, which otherwise aligns with sweeping deregulatory efforts the agency has already announced, setting deadlines for measures...

Biosolids PFAS Report Should Reflect More Realistic Conditions, States Say

State regulators are urging the Trump EPA to revise the modeling underpinning the Biden-era draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids to make it more applicable to state-specific conditions and outcomes, cautioning that the assessment’s use of certain risk assumptions and biosolids application rates fails to reflect realistic state practices. But state agencies do not all agree on the direction EPA should take. Some state regulators argue EPA should use stricter risk scenarios, such as accounting for infants...

EPA Withdraws Legacy CCR Direct Final Rule, Extending Comment Deadline

EPA is withdrawing its direct final rule that would extend compliance deadlines associated with the Biden-era rule governing legacy coal combustion residual (CCR) surface impoundments and CCR management units (CCRMU) given adverse comments on the measure. In a notice slated for publication in the Sept. 4 Federal Register , EPA said it has received adverse comments on the direct final rule and as a result, is extending the comment period for its companion proposed rule and is slated to hold...

Lawmakers Seek To Strike Defense Bill Measure Paring Back AFFF Phaseout

Two lawmakers have filed amendments aimed at eliminating a measure pending in the House defense authorization bill that would delay the Defense Department’s (DOD) phaseout of firefighting foam containing PFAS and expand an exemption for using the foam, signaling opposition to an attempt to weaken the phaseout requirements. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) -- co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force -- and George Whitesides (D-CA) filed separate but identical amendments to the House Rules Committee that would strike section...

Water Systems Urge Trump EPA To Revise PFAS Biosolids Risk Assessment

Water systems and biosolids advocates are urging the Trump EPA to revise the modeling, including risk scenarios and human exposure assumptions, underlying the Biden-EPA’s draft risk assessment of two legacy PFAS in biosolids, charging it improperly calculated risks and overstated the harm the chemicals cause. “Overall, projected risks from individual pathways are overestimated as the risk assessment focuses on ‘worst-case scenarios,’” the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which represents publicly owned wastewater and stormwater agencies, says in an...

EPA’s Planned Superfund Fixes Threatened By Staff Losses, Experts Say

The Trump EPA’s renewed efforts to streamline Superfund processes could help speed cleanups at some sites, a top former official and other experts say, though many are concerned that significant staff losses could outweigh any improvements stemming from the planned increased use of presumptive remedies and removal actions. EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi told Bloomberg in an Aug. 13 article that EPA is promoting the use of presumptive remedies at sites where cleanup options are well-understood, in addition to...

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...

Environmentalists Criticize Defense Bill Rollbacks On PFAS Restrictions

As Congress prepares to take up defense policy legislation when lawmakers return from their summer recess, environmentalists are criticizing the pending House and Senate bills for proposing various rollbacks on PFAS-related restrictions that they say would erode protections aimed at safeguarding military personnel and communities from the chemicals. “The rollback would deliberately gut the very protections intended to shield the people who put their lives on the line for the U.S.,” the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which has long pushed...

EPA Backs Wyoming’s Partial CCR Permit Program, Advancing State Push

EPA is proposing to approve Wyoming’s long-pending application to operate portions of a coal combustion residuals (CCR) permitting program in lieu of the federal program, the second such proposal the agency has issued as it works to advance Administrator Lee Zeldin’s goal of approving more state coal ash programs. EPA on Aug. 28 issued a prepublication version of its proposed approval of the Cowboy State’s application to operate its own CCR permit program in lieu of the federal requirements. “Today’s...

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