U.S. EPA Announces Three Actions on PFAS

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June 22, 2021Soraya VargasBlog

On 10 June 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emphasized its commitment to help reduce the potential risks to the public from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by announcing three important actions to better protect communities from pollution. Those actions include issuing a proposed rule allowing the EPA to gather comprehensive data on more than 1,000 PFAS manufactured in the U.S., withdrawing a January 2021 guidance on a July 2020 significant new use rule (SNUR), and publishing a final rule that incorporates three additional PFAS into the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

Verisk 3E Review 

Proposed Rule to Require PFAS Reporting

The EPA's proposed rule is a statutory requirement under the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It would require all manufacturers and importers of PFAS in any year since 2011 to report chemical identity, categories of use, volumes manufactured and processed, byproducts, environmental and health effects, worker exposure, and disposal. This reporting would allow the EPA to better understand the sources and quantities of PFAS manufactured in the U.S. It also would support the agency's PFAS research, monitoring, and regulatory efforts. 

This rule would be the first targeted effort under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to collect information on the manufacture of these substances once it is finalized. In addition, it would provide the EPA with the most thorough dataset of PFAS manufactured in the U.S. thus far.

To assist stakeholders in determining whether they have manufactured PFAS since 2011, the EPA is providing examples of PFAS from the TSCA Inventory and new chemical low-volume exemption notices and structural diagram examples of additional PFAS that cannot be identified due to confidentiality claims.

The proposed deadline for reporting PFAS data is one year following the effective date of the final rule. The EPA will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register via Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0549 at the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

You can view a prepublication version of the proposed rule for more information.

Withdrawing of Compliance Guide on PFAS SNUR

In accordance with President Biden's Executive Orders, the EPA has withdrawn a January 2021 compliance guide, which narrowed the scope of a July 2020 SNUR. This SNUR prohibited companies from importing certain long-chain PFAS as part of a "surface coating" on articles without prior EPA review and approval. 

The January 2021 compliance guide limited what would be considered a "surface coating" subject to the SNUR by providing exemptions for "unintentionally present" impurities. It also provided exemptions for those who process these chemicals. After further review, the EPA has now removed this compliance guide from its website, and it is no longer in effect. This action also follows the announcement that the EPA rescinded the procedural rule on guidance documents

The July 2020 SNUR continues to be in effect. Accordingly, articles containing certain long-chain PFAS as a surface coating cannot be imported into the U.S. without EPA review. Importers (but not processors) of articles are subject to the SNUR. Although this rule did not include a regulatory definition of "surface coating," the EPA states that the rule provides information on the intended meaning of the phrase. Thus, the agency does not intend to issue a new guidance document at this time.

For more information, you can view the SNUR requirements, including the applicability of those requirements to the import of articles, here.

Implementation of NDAA Requirements to Report PFAS to TRI

The EPA also has taken the next step to implement a significant PFAS requirement of the NDAA. The NDAA provided a framework to add additional PFAS to the TRI on an annual basis. For TRI Reporting Year 2021, the NDAA automatically added three PFAS to the TRI list because they are now subject to a SNUR under the TSCA. 

On 3 June 2021, the EPA issued a final rule that officially incorporates these requirements into the Code of Federal Regulations for TRI. Per the NDAA requirements, the PFAS additions became effective as of 1 January 2021. Reporting forms for these PFAS must be submitted to the EPA by 1 July 2022 for the calendar year 2021 data.

To learn more about the EPA’s actions on PFAS, please visit the EPA's website.

Verisk 3E Analysis 

Per the July 2020 SNUR, articles containing certain long-chain PFAS as a surface coating continue to be subject to EPA review prior to importation into the U.S. The January 2021 guidance on the July 2020 SNUR is no longer in effect.

Further, three PFAS have been added to TRI reporting as of 1 January 2021. Reporting forms for these PFAS need to be submitted to the EPA by 1 July 2022 for the calendar year 2021 data.

In addition, manufacturers, including importers, of articles containing PFAS in any year since 2011 should be aware of the EPA's proposed rule, which would potentially require them to report information related to chemical identity, categories of use, volumes manufactured and processed, byproducts, environmental and health effects, worker exposure, and disposal to the EPA in the future.








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