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.

Industry Urges EPA, Congress To Cut Lookback In PFAS Reporting Rule

Manufacturing and technology industry groups are urging EPA to work with Congress to significantly cut the lookback period that companies are currently subjected to when reporting information about their PFAS-containing products under TSCA, arguing the reporting data should reflect current PFAS uses rather than historical uses. EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule requiring manufacturers to report on their per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) uses in products, which Congress required the agency to craft in fiscal year 2020 defense legislation,...

House GOP Backs Chemical Industry Call To Ease EPA’s Pyrolysis Rules

House Republicans are endorsing industry calls to ease EPA regulations on controversial chemical recycling processes advanced by the chemical industry, though Democrats say the technology endangers public health and are urging Congress to instead address existing deficiencies in the nation’s recycling infrastructure. Congress should “assess regulatory barriers to proliferation of new technologies and strategies to grow domestic manufacturing capabilities while keeping valuable materials out of landfills,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) told a July 16 hearing...

Judge Blocks ‘Extraordinary’ DOJ Bid To Halt New Jersey Superfund Suit

A federal judge is blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to pause litigation while it reconsiders its position on Superfund liability for the Passaic River, after small parties in the case said the unusual request failed to explain why EPA is considering changing course on the agreement it pursued for nearly a decade. The Justice Department (DOJ) on July 3 requested a 60-day abeyance in the appeal of a major settlement agreement for dozens of parties responsible for pollution in the...

D.C. Circuit pauses phosphogypsum deadline suit

The D.C. Circuit is granting EPA’s bid to pause environmentalists’ suit seeking to force the agency to respond to their 2021 petition to regulate phosphogypsum under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), citing preliminary discussions amongst the parties that could resolve the suit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a July 3 order grants EPA’s motion to hold the suit In re: Center for Biological Diversity, et al. in abeyance, directing the...

Coal Ash Inspection Analysis Seeks To Bolster Biden EPA ‘Legacy’ Rule

Environmentalists’ new analysis of coal combustion residuals (CCR) surface impoundments identifies significant concerns with coal ash storage and disposal in facilities across the country, arguing the data bolsters the need for a Biden-era rule governing so-called “legacy” surface impoundments that Trump officials are reconsidering. Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice, in a July 10 blog post notes she examined first-ever inspection reports for coal ash facilities, as required by the Biden-era legacy rule, and identified “dangerous conditions across the country.”...

Power Sector Urges North Dakota CCR Program Approval, Seeking Certainty

Local power industry groups are urging EPA to swiftly approve North Dakota’s application to operate its own coal combustion residuals (CCR) permitting program in lieu of federal requirements, arguing the state program would provide greater certainty and localized oversight more tailored to the state’s unique characteristics. “A state-run program improves regulatory certainty for operators, for facilities that are investing millions of dollars in long-term planning. Knowing the rules and knowing that the people enforcing them are close to the ground...

House Lawmakers Push Bill To Boost DOD Transparency On PFAS Cleanups

Two House lawmakers from Michigan are pushing legislation that would increase the Defense Department’s (DOD) accountability to the public on its efforts to clean up PFAS contamination, as DOD undertakes investigations and cleanups of the chemicals at hundreds of bases that are expected to exceed $9 billion. Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) introduced the Military PFAS Transparency Act June 27, aimed at getting the military to provide more information to more than 600 communities across the...

House GOP Taps Rep. Palmer, LCRI Critic, To Lead Key Environment Panel

House Republicans have named Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), a strong critic of the Biden EPA’s rule requiring replacement of lead service lines, to lead the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that oversees the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and several other major environmental laws. Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), chairman of the full committee, July 3 announced Palmer’s appointment to lead the environment subcommittee following a leadership shuffle due to Rep. Buddy Carter’s (R-GA) resignation from another subcommittee chairmanship. Carter had chaired...

EPA’s Proposed FY26 Budget Cuts May Stymie Range Of PFAS Goals

The Trump EPA in its fiscal year 2026 budget justification appears to be supporting a swath of initiatives to tackle PFAS contamination, including Superfund cleanups, drinking water issues and toxicity research, but the agency’s planned cuts across several programs related to PFAS are likely to undercut that commitment. EPA’s recently released FY26 budget justification repeatedly signals EPA’s intent to prioritize addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination through Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cleanups, research into toxicity...

EPA Seeks Fourth Extension In Case Challenging CERCLA PFAS Rule

The Trump EPA is asking the D.C. Circuit to once again delay industry litigation challenging the landmark Biden-era rule listing two PFAS as Superfund “hazardous substances,” the fourth time the agency has sought such a delay to give officials more time to decide on how or whether they will seek to revise the rule amid competing interests. EPA July 2 filed an unopposed motion asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to continue abeyance for...

Groups Vow Novel Suit Over Lack Of ESA Consultation On CERCLA Remedy

Montana environmental and tribal groups are threatening to sue EPA over its failure to consult with wildlife agencies under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) section 7 when it authorized a site remedy at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) Superfund site in what appears to be a relatively rare case of such a conflict. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation and Citizens for a Better Flathead sent a June 5 notice of intent to sue to...

OIG Finds Dozens Of Federal Superfund Sites Face Risk From Sea-Level Rise

EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has found that more than four dozen federal Superfund sites, all of which are military facilities, are at risk from sea level rise and increased storm surges, increasing contamination risks to nearby communities, according to a new report from the agency’s watchdog. But the June 30 report , “Evaluation of Risks to Federal Facility Superfund Site Remedies from Sea-Level Rise or Increased Storm Surge,” makes no mention of climate change that is driving such...

Environmentalists Seek ‘Cleanup’ For California’s Landmark CEQA Rollback

California environmental, labor and tribal groups are seeking to convince state lawmakers to quickly craft “cleanup” legislation to narrow landmark rollbacks to the state’s umbrella environmental protection law for housing and industrial development projects, which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) enacted June 30 as part of the fiscal year 2025-26 budget. In statements issued after Newsom signed budget legislation scaling back the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), environmentalists urged lawmakers to make good on their commitments to consider easing the rollback,...

Pentagon Readies Another Deadline Extension For Ending PFAS-Foam Use

Pentagon officials are briefing lawmakers on their plans to exercise a second one-year waiver for the military’s upcoming deadline to end use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, citing various difficulties including the large number of assets that need to transition, a shift in Defense Department (DOD) priorities and disposal limitations. “Although the Department has made significant progress, it needs additional time to ensure a methodical and safe transition of over 1,000 facilities and over 6,000 mobile assets,” the Office of the...

DOJ Awaits EPA Decision On PFAS Rule, Stalling Talks On CERCLA Suits

Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys are delaying settlement talks in the first set of Superfund cost recovery claims in multidistrict litigation (MDL) over PFAS contamination from firefighting foam as they await the outcome of EPA’s review of the Biden-era rule designating two PFAS as Superfund “hazardous substances.” Such claims rely on EPA’s Superfund per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) rule to assert a cause of action, which means any decision by EPA to rescind the rule would likely have a significant...

Motion For Partial Summary Judgment

Memorandum Of Law


ASTSWMO Says EPA FY26 Budget Will ‘Decimate’ State Program Capabilities

State waste officials are warning that President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash EPA’s budget in fiscal year 2026 by 54 percent will “decimate” the ability for state environmental agencies to carry out their programs, echoing warnings from other regulators that states may return delegated programs to the agency. The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) submitted June 16 written testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s environment panel, warning that the proposed FY26 budget cuts for EPA...

House Hearing Previews GOP, Industry Push To Roll Back EPA’s CCR Rule

Republican lawmakers and power industry officials used a House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) hearing on coal ash to preview their calls for how the Trump EPA should revise the Biden-era rule governing legacy coal combustion residuals (CCR) surface impoundments and CCR management units (CCRMU). During the June 26 hearing before the committee’s environment panel, GOP lawmakers pressed the agency to revise the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) rule to allow increased use of CCR. “It’s time to unleash...

ExxonMobil Pushes To Remove California Plastics Suit To Federal Court

ExxonMobil is urging the 9th Circuit to remove to federal court California’s lawsuit alleging the company deceived the public by promoting recycling as a solution to plastic waste concerns, arguing in its opening brief that a lower court incorrectly ruled to remand the case to San Francisco County Superior Court. “For at least three independent reasons, the sweeping nature of this suit gives rise to federal-court jurisdiction, and the district court erred by ordering remand” to the superior court, states...

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