The Nickel Report

On August 16, 2024, federal agencies released their “Spring 2024” Unified Regulatory Agenda detailing the regulations that they are developing over the next several months as well as long-term actions planned over the next few years. The agenda include the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) and the US Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) numerous important upcoming actions on chemicals and products containing these chemicals that will have significant implications for the regulated community. Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s regulatory team has provided analyses of these upcoming regulatory actions:

• EPA’s Spring 2024 Unified Regulatory Agenda—Upcoming Per-and-Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)-Related Actions 
• EPA’s Spring 2024 Regulatory Agenda—Upcoming Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Actions 

Upcoming PFAS Actions

As reflected by EPA’s April 2024 release of a final rule establishing near-zero drinking water standards for certain PFAS, May 2024 release of its landmark final rule designating PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA hazardous substances, and October 2023 release of its final rule requiring reporting of manufactured and imported PFAS and imported PFAS-containing products and articles, EPA has issued significant  regulations to restrict and manage PFAS. Federal agencies are continuing to initiate PFAS-related regulatory actions that will pose new compliance challenges with far-reaching implications for a broad spectrum of the regulated community. Among these regulatory items are:

• DoD’s proposed prohibition of procuring certain personal-protective firefighting equipment containing any intentionally added PFAS and proposed prohibition of procuring any covered item that contains perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the following items: (1) nonstick cookware or cooking utensils for use in galleys or dining facilities; and (2) upholstered furniture, carpets, and rugs that have been treated with stain-resistant coatings.
• EPA’s proposed requirements for national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit applications to address monitoring and/or reporting of PFAS.
• Two proposed EPA actions under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to designate certain PFAS as RCRA hazardous constituents and clarify how PFAS can be cleaned up through the RCRA corrective action process.
• Adding certain PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

Upcoming TSCA Actions

EPA has continued to release multiple proposed and final chemical risk management rules under section 6 of TSCA. However, multiple planned regulatory actions are still delayed, including the majority of the TSCA risk management rules. Among the TSCA-related regulatory items are:

• Final risk management rules for perchloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), and carbon tetrachloride scheduled for late 2024.
• Proposed risk management rules for 1-bromopropane (1-BP), C.I. pigment violet 29 (PV29), and n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP).
• Revised risk management rules for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals scheduled for late 2024.
• Final rule revising procedural requirements for new chemical reviews.
• Proposed “tiered data reporting” rule to establish new reporting requirements for chemicals undergoing risk evaluation and risk management.

Please contact our chemicals team for more information.