EPA PFAS Actions: Regulatory Determinations Coming and Comments Needed on Toxics Release Inventory

On December 4, EPA issued a press release about making regulatory determinations for PFAS, as well as a Federal Register Notice on adding PFAS chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory. Both of these efforts are part of the Agency’s PFAS Action Plan

PFAS Regulatory Determinations: EPA’s press release did not provide any information about what the regulatory determinations are, but stated that the Agency, “sent the proposed regulatory determination for PFOS and PFOA in drinking water to the Office of Management and Budget for interagency review,” and that this “action will provide proposed determinations for at least five contaminants listed on the fourth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL4), including PFOA and PFOS.” EPA previously set the schedule for making regulatory determinations for PFOA and PFOS by the end of the calendar year, so it looks like they may propose determinations for three more compounds. See the press release here.

Adding PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI): EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in a Federal Register Notice to seek input on adding PFAS to the TRI. The notice is entitled, “Addition of Certain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS); Community Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical Release Reporting,” As there are currently no PFAS chemicals included on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list subject to reporting under relevant sections of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and Pollution Prevention Act,
the purpose of the notice is to:

• Get public input that will help the agency determine whether data and information are available to fulfill the TRI chemical listing criteria; and
• Use the input to help evaluate the extent and usefulness of the data that would be gathered under TRI.

The TRI provides annual reporting information about environmental releases and other waste management quantities from certain facilities throughout the US that manufacture, process, or otherwise use listed toxic chemicals. The TRI helps support informed decision-making by companies, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public. The due date for comments is February 3, 2020. For more information, read the Federal Register Notice.