EPA Proposes Enforcement Initiatives Addressing PFAS, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice
On January 19, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice soliciting public comment on its proposal to add environmental justice, climate change, and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination to its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECIs) for the 2024–2027 fiscal year cycle.
EPA Amends All Appropriate Inquiries Rule
On December 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Final Rule to amend its All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule. The AAI Rule is the EPA regulation that sets the process for conducting an inquiry into a property’s environmental conditions in order to obtain protections from liability under the federal Superfund Law, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The amended rule updates the reference to the latest American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E1527-21 Standard Practice as one method for conducting a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 1 ESA) that would satisfy EPA’s AAI requirements. The rule takes effect on February 13, 2023 — but allows a one-year transition before EPA will no longer accept the former ASTM Phase I ESA standard (E1527-13) as meeting the AAI requirement.
U.S. EPA Takes Additional Steps to Evaluate and Restrict PFAS in Pesticides
On September 13, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice proposing to remove 12 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from its list of inert ingredients approved for use in regulated pesticide products. The 12 PFAS are listed below. According to EPA’s review, none of the 12 PFAS are being used as inert ingredients in any registered pesticide products; however, removing chemicals from EPA’s list of approved inert ingredients ensures that any future proposed use of these PFAS as inert ingredients would require substantiation with data (including, among other things, studies evaluating potential carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, adverse reproductive effects) and approval by EPA.
U.S. EPA Identifies Five PFAS Added to Toxic Release Inventory List, Four of Them Newly Required for Reporting by July 1, 2023
On July 18, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule updating the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to identify five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to the TRI pursuant to the framework set by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA). (more…)
EPA Notifies Plastics Container Industry of Potential Presence of PFAS and TSCA Compliance Requirements
On March 16, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notified the fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) industry in a letter that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) could be formed in HDPE containers or similar plastics as a byproduct, which may trigger notification requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and be a violation of TSCA as contamination. (more…)
EPA Proposes to Adopt New American Society for Testing and Materials Standard, Including PFAS, for CERCLA Phase I All Appropriate Inquiry
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed and direct final rule, which adopts the E1527-21 standard issued by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), for All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). (more…)
EPA Adds Four New PFAS to Toxic Release Inventory, Continues Addressing Strategic Roadmap Goals
As part of its continued focus on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added four PFAS substances to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list, including PFBS (perfluorobutane sulfonic acid) and potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate as well as two compounds listed at by their chemical identifier numbers — CASRN 65104-45-2 and CASRN 203743-03-7. (more…)
EPA Takes Two New Actions on PFAS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took two important actions in late December 2021 related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of chemicals receiving increasing legislative and regulatory scrutiny in recent years. The two actions relate to drinking-water monitoring data and to toxicity and human-health testing data. (more…)
Biden Administration Issues Executive Order on Sustainable Procurement
On December 8, 2021, the Biden Administration issued an executive order seeking to leverage United States procurement power to promote investment in clean energy. The order sets out the following five goals: “100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030, at least half of which will be locally supplied clean energy to meet 24/7 demand; 100 percent zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) acquisitions by 2035, including 100 percent zero-emission light-duty vehicle acquisitions by 2027; [n]et-zero emissions from federal procurement no later than 2050, including a Buy Clean policy to promote use of construction materials with lower embodied emissions; [a] net-zero emissions building portfolio by 2045, including a 50 percent emissions reduction by 2032; and [n]et-zero emissions from overall federal operations by 2050, including a 65 percent emissions reduction by 2030.” (more…)
EPA to Initiate Rulemakings Addressing PFAS Under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as “Hazardous Constituents”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) announced that it will initiate two separate rulemakings to address PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated substances) under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) — the law that provides EPA with authority to address hazardous waste from “cradle to grave.” EPA announced these policy proposals in response to a petition submitted to Administrator Michael Regan by New Mexico Gov, Michelle Lujan Grisham on June 23 requesting that the Agency take regulatory action to list PFAS either collectively or individually as “hazardous waste” under Subtitle C of the Act. (more…)