VALVE MAGAZINE Spring 2024

EPA REGULATIONS

U.S. Environmental Regulations Relevant to PFAS There are several statutes the EPA and other agencies are reviewing to regulate and restrict PFAS, with nearly every state considering some type of law or regulation around PFAS. While much of the focus is on consumer materials which use PFAS, there are still implications for industrials. Here are some of the key acts and terms related to PFAS, and some information on reporting requirements that affect the industrial valve and flow control industry which are pending. The information was derived from the EPA website. STRATEGIC ROADMAP: EPA’S COMMITMENT TO ACTION 2021-2024:

through recycling, energy recovery and treatment, as well as any practices implemented to prevent or reduce the generation of chemical waste. Currently, 196 individual PFAS are listed under the TRI program. Facilities that manufacture, process or otherwise use more than 100 pounds of these PFAS must report annually release and waste management information to EPA by July 1 covering the preceding calendar year. The EPA recently rescinded applicability of the de minimis exemption (which allowed companies to ignore concentrations of a substance for reporting purposes if present below 1%, or 0.1% for carcin ogens). This change will result in extensive new reporting of PFAS that may be present in materials processed or otherwise used at a facility. RCRA gives the EPA authority to “control hazardous waste from the ‘cradle-to-the-grave,’ including transportation, treatment, storage and disposal.” In February 2024, the EPA proposed two regulations that would add nine PFAS to the list of RCRA hazardous constituents, and would provide the agency and autho rized states authority to require cleanup of these substances. COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION AND LIABILITY ACT (CERCLA): Commonly known as a Superfund, this was enacted in 1980. The EPA website says: “This law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, and provided broad federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment.” Superfund cleanup sites have included former battery plants, decommissioned nuclear facilities and hazardous chemical spill sites. On April 19, 2024, the EPA issued a final rule listing PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA “hazardous substances.” CLEAN WATER ACT (CWA): First enacted in 1948 as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the CWA was expanded in 1972 and renamed. It has imple mented pollution control standards and limits for wastewater and surface waters, and made it illegal to discharge pollutants into navigable waters without a permit. Currently, PFAS are designated nonconventional pollutants. RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT (RCRA):

On Oct. 18, 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap which addressed the “whole agency” approach to PFAS. The roadmap sets timelines by which EPA plans to take specific actions and commits to bolder new policies to safeguard public health, protect the environment and hold polluters accountable. The actions described in the PFAS Roadmap each represent important and meaningful steps to safeguard communities from PFAS contamination. Cumulatively, these actions will build upon one another and lead to more enduring and protective solutions. SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT (SDWA): Updated on April 10, 2024, to address PFAS found in drinking water, the act requires public water systems to monitor for PFAS by 2027 and report on levels in their drinking water; implement reduction solutions for PFAS by 2029; and starting in 2029, public water systems that find PFAS in their drinking water must take action to reduce levels and provide notifica tion to the public of the violation. TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT (TSCA): Enacted in 1976, the TSCA “provides EPA with authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements and restrictions related to chemical substances and mixtures.” As of January 2024, a final rule went into effect that requires compa nies to notify EPA if they plan to use one of 329 inactive PFAS, and the EPA may restrict this usage at its discretion. On Oct. 11, 2023, the EPA issued the PFAS Reporting Rule requiring any entity that manufactures/imports or has manu factured/imported PFAS or PFAS-containing articles since January 2011 to report information regarding uses, production volume, disposal, hazards and more to the EPA by May 2025. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW ACT (EPCRA)/TOXICS RELEASE INVENTORY (TRI) PROGRAM: The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the waste manage ment of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. U.S. facilities in different industry sectors must report annually how much of each chemical they release into the environment and/or managed

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VALVE MAGAZINE

SPRING 2024