NAM Regulatory Update: EPA Extends PFAS Reporting Deadline

As part of an effort to bring more information about the regulatory and legal environment facing American manufacturers, NFPA is monitoring the newsfeed of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and will be bringing important updates like this to the attention of NFPA members.

(September 5, 2024) The Environmental Protection Agency is granting companies an eight-month extension of a one-time reporting and recordkeeping deadline under the Toxic Substances Control Act. However, the requirement remains unworkably onerous to manufacturers, the NAM said Wednesday.

What’s going on: “Under the existing final rule, which became effective last November, companies were under a deadline of submitting reports on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) uses starting Nov. 12, 2024, through May 8, 2025.”

The extension—which is being made “due to a budget shortfall that has delayed the agency’s ability to develop a fully functioning reporting tool in time for its November start date”—moves the start date of the information submission period to July 11, 2025.

The final rule also corrects an error made in the November 2023 iteration, in which the EPA “inadvertently called for PFAS manufacturers to submit ‘published study reports’ related to certain types of submittals. It is correcting that to instead require ‘unpublished study reports.’”

Who’s affected: The final rule, which will be published in the Federal Register today, “sweeps broadly to require reporting on the manufacture (including import) of PFAS in any amount between 2011 and 2022. Companies that imported PFAS-containing articles during this period are also in scope, though these companies can report using a streamlined form” (The National Law Review).

Why it’s problematic: “We are pleased to see the EPA delay this retroactive reporting requirement, [which] the NAM has called for [and] which will temporarily prevent an increase in the regulatory burden facing manufacturers,” said NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen.

However, the “announcement reflects the massive administrative burden this proposal would impose on both the business community and regulators, while failing to provide insights for effective and prioritized public health efforts. We urge the agency to reverse course entirely, unless and until it has the capacity to effectively enforce the standard.”