October 10, 2024
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a rule to add 16 individual and 15 categories of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Together, these additions would represent over 100 individual PFAS compounds.
The rule, published in the Federal Register on October 8, proposes a 100-pound reporting threshold for the manufacture, processing, and other uses of these PFAS. For the PFAS categories added, all PFAS within the category contribute to meeting the 100-pound threshold. The rule further proposes to reclassify some of the previously-added PFAS from individual listing to listing as part of a category. The rule also designates the added PFAS as chemicals of special concern, which makes them subject to more extensive reporting requirements.
The TRI was established under Section 313 of EPCRA. Under the TRI program, regulated facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use listed chemicals above set quantities must report annually to EPA. This reporting includes releases and waste management of listed chemicals. Reporting forms are due to EPA July 1 of each year for the prior reporting year, after which EPA processes the received data and makes it publicly available. The purpose of TRI reporting and data sharing is to enable government entities, organizations, and the public to know of the facilities managing listed chemicals and of any associated releases in their community.
The addition of these PFAS to the TRI is a product of the framework established under Section 7321 of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Section 7321 provides for the addition of PFAS to the TRI through multiple pathways. The pathway applicable to the current rulemaking, outlined in § 7321(d), is a determination by EPA that a PFAS substance or class listed in § 7321(d)(2) meets EPCRA’s criteria for TRI addition. EPA determined that the PFAS in this rule warrant addition due to their toxicity. These PFAS are associated with adverse health outcomes, including cancer and harm to the liver, kidneys, and reproductive and developmental systems.
Another pathway established in § 7321 provides for the automatic addition of PFAS to the TRI annually when EPA takes any of a number of actions specified. One such action is when EPA finalizes a toxicity value. The proposed rule includes clarification on when such automatic addition occurs by proposing a list of EPA toxicity value types that trigger the automatic addition provision.
EPA is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through December 9.