EPA Proposes Landmark Stormwater Regulation in Massachusetts
(November 22, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new draft general stormwater permit that, once finalized, will impose potentially onerous new requirements on more than 4,000 properties in the Charles, Neponset, and Mystic River watersheds in Massachusetts. The permit will impact commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) properties with one acre or more of impervious surface—including office parks, shopping malls, hospitals, and private colleges and universities—in over 60 communities in the Boston metropolitan area.
EPA Delays Start of Toxic Substances Control Act Reporting Period for PFAS Data
(September 06, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a direct final rule on September 5 that will delay the beginning of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting period under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) until July 11, 2025. The reporting period was previously set to begin on November 12, 2024. Most companies reporting PFAS data under the TSCA rule will now have until January 22, 2026 to meet their reporting obligations.
New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science, Law360
(May 30, 2024)
In this Law360 Expert Analysis, partner John McGahren and associate Debra Carfora discuss the release of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s final amendments to the procedural framework it uses to evaluate the health and environmental risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Risk Evaluation Rule Tees Up Litigation on How EPA Considers Chemical Use in Commerce
(May 13, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 3, 2024 released its final amendments to its Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation (or the Risk Evaluation Rule), the procedural framework for evaluating the health and environmental risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The newly amended rule codifies certain policy considerations expanding the scope of risk evaluations, while leaving EPA broad discretion in how it interprets and implements the science.
EPA Finalizes Rules for Fossil Fuel Fired Power Plants Including GHG Standards
(April 29, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on April 25, 2024 the prepublication versions of four final rules applicable to fossil fuel–fired power plants. The rules establish carbon dioxide standards for existing coal-fired power plants and new gas-fired power plants, limits for mercury emissions from lignite-fired power plants and emission of toxic metals from all coal-fired power plants, more stringent standards on wastewater discharged from coal-fired power plants, and requirements applicable to inactive coal ash impoundments at inactive facilities.
EPA Designates PFOA and PFOS As CERCLA Hazardous Substances
(April 23, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 19 released the pre-publication version of the final rule (Rule) designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This is the first time EPA has directly designated any substance as a hazardous substance under its CERCLA 102(a) authority.
EPA Finalizes New Enforceable National Drinking Water Regulation
(April 12, 2024)
On April 10, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its highly anticipated new rule aimed at reducing the level of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. The final rule is not only the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, but also the first National Primary Drinking Water Regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act in decades.
California EPA Adopts Public Health Goals for PFOA and PFOS
(April 09, 2024)
The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) on April 5 set new public health goals for two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, signaling the possibility of strict regulation by the state.
EPA Releases Proposed Resource Conservation and Recovery Act PFAS Rules
(February 08, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on February 8, 2024 two proposed rules addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The rules, if finalized as proposed, would add nine PFAS, their salts, and their structural isomers to the RCRA hazardous constituents list and amend the regulatory definition of “hazardous waste” to require corrective action for substances meeting the statutory definition of “hazardous waste,” with the likely effect of increasing the scope of corrective action at existing and new sites.
EPA Releases List of Known PFAS Chemicals Covered by New Reporting Rules
(February 01, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on January 26, 2024 a list of specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that trigger reporting requirements under EPA’s recently promulgated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7) PFAS reporting rule. The list is intended to clarify the chemicals that EPA considers PFAS to help the regulated community identify which manufactured or imported PFAS chemicals and PFAS-containing articles are subject to the reporting requirements.
New EPA Guidance Cuts Prior Residential Soil Lead Levels in Half
(January 26, 2024)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently lowered the recommended regional screening level (RSL) and regional removal management level (RML) for lead-contaminated soil in areas where children live and play from 400 parts per million (ppm) to 200 ppm. EPA recommends using an even lower RSL of 100 ppm in areas with other sources of lead exposure, including lead water service lines and lead-based paint, and areas identified as non-attainment areas for lead emissions under the Clean Air Act.
EPA Releases Long-Awaited Final PFAS Reporting Rules
(October 03, 2023)
Following several extensions to its statutory deadline, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) on September 28, 2023. While the final rules largely track the draft rules released in June 2021, they include changes to address concerns raised during the comment period about the rule’s potential breadth and associated compliance burdens and a slightly expanded definition of what PFAS are covered by the new rule.
Recent EPA Actions Show Why Companies Must Understand Products’ Individual Chemical Constituents
(August 08, 2023)
Historically, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has generally declined to regulate manufactured goods or finished products―known as “articles”―under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This long-standing practice seems to now be falling by the wayside, however, as EPA has begun affirmatively including articles in many new regulatory measures under TSCA. For companies that import, manufacture, process, or distribute finished goods for commercial sale, it is more critical than ever to know what chemicals are contained in those products.
Exploring the Universe of PFAS Regulation and Litigation
(April 19, 2023)
While Earth was completing yet another trip around the sun, many developments occurred within the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) space, including the pending Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Safe Drinking Water Act regulations for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and certain other PFAS and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 8(a) reporting rule in the United States, and a proposed PFAS ban in the European Union.
Delay in EPA’s Final PFAS Reporting Rule May Signal Changes to Reduce Compliance Burden
(February 13, 2023)
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) highly anticipated regulations governing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting, originally slated for final publication in January 2023, have been delayed to at least March. There have been concerns that the forthcoming rule may place an excessive burden on entities that are required to report, particularly from smaller businesses and others that may not have the infrastructure or resources to satisfy the reporting obligations.
EPA Expands Definition of PFAS in Fifth Contaminant Candidate List
(November 07, 2022)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on November 2 the final version of its fifth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 5) that significantly expands the draft CCL’s definition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The new definition, which EPA revised following a year-long public comment and review process, may implicate thousands of individual PFAS chemicals for future regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Wait Is Over: EPA Proposes Rule Designating PFOA and PFOS as Hazardous Substances Under CERCLA
(August 31, 2022)
In the first designation of its kind, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication proposed rule on August 26, 2022, designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), including their salts and structural isomers, as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Near Zero: EPA Sets New Stringent PFAS Lifetime Health Advisories
(June 17, 2022)
In its latest action under its PFAS Roadmap, the US Environmental Protection Agency issued new and updated drinking water health advisories for four PFAS chemicals. These health advisories are an interim step in a larger process of regulation for PFAS at the federal level and arrive at a time of unprecedented state and federal regulatory and legislative action to address PFAS in the environment.
EPA Signals Heightened Focus on Environmental Justice with Sweeping Guidance
(June 15, 2022)
The Biden-Harris administration recently affirmed its commitment to advancing environmental justice, issuing a sweeping guidance document on May 26, 2022. At first glance, the guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) merely reviews longstanding statutes and executive orders for environmental justice–oriented authority. But a closer reading reveals a subtle shift in EPA’s decision-making.
EPA Boosts Superfund PFAS Screening Adds PFAS Chemicals to Lists of Risk-Based Values
(May 23, 2022)
The US Environmental Protection Agency announced on May 18 the addition of five per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals to its Regional Removal Management Levels and Regional Screening Levels. These additions signal the agency’s increasing efforts to investigate and address PFAS chemicals at sites of alleged contamination.
What’s Ahead for Emerging Contaminants: Highlights and Recommendations
(April 22, 2022)
There have been a number of important recent developments, with more on the way, concerning emerging contaminants such as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane. It can be hard for companies to discern, respond to, and plan for the practical impact of these developments on their regulatory compliance, environmental cleanups, litigation, and day-to-day business operations.
Recent Key Updates in the Evolving PFAS Playbook, PLI Chronicle
(November/December 2021)
In PLI Chronicle, partners Stephanie Feingold, Duke McCall, and Julie Palmer, along with associate Drew Jordan, provide an update on the steps taken at the federal level within the last six months to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as well as their potential implications.
California Moves on PFOA, PFOS, and Other PFAS Under Proposition 65
(March 31, 2021)
The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently took steps pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Proposition 65, to further regulate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and other perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Environmental Enforcement Outlook on Climate Change, NEPA and Emerging Contaminants and Chemical Safety
(2/11/2021 (Updated 2/16/2021))
With the arrival of a new US presidential administration, companies are anticipating potential shifts in enforcement priorities by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the areas of climate change, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and emerging contaminants and chemical safety. In several areas, there is likely to be a rollback of the rollbacks of environmental rules implemented by the former administration, as well as an increased emphasis on environmental justice.
Environmental Regulation and Enforcement Outlook
(November 19, 2020)
A new US presidential administration brings new priorities across various areas and industries, including regulation and enforcement of activities that affect the environment. With President-Elect Joe Biden expected to assume the presidency on January 20, 2021, there are a number of considerations for companies tracking potential changes to the law governing the use of chemicals and antimicrobials.
EPA Issues Final PFAS Rule Under TSCA
(June 29, 2020)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took another step on June 22 in advancing its Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan by finalizing a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances (Final PFAS SNUR or Rule), while dropping certain “safe harbor” provisions.
Efforts to Regulate PFOS and PFOA Move Ahead in the Wake of COVID-19
(June 12, 2020)
As part of the EPA’s recent efforts to advance its Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan (PFAS Action Plan), the EPA announced on February 20 its preliminary determination to regulate perfluoroctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water. Following review of the comments submitted by the June 10 deadline, EPA will make a final determination whether to regulate PFOA and PFOS under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA). Meanwhile, many states continue to move ahead with issuing their own regulations governing PFAS.