Update: EPA Finalizes Rule To Eliminate TRI Reporting Exemption For PFAS

As forecast in our December 2022 client alert, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a pre-publication version of its final rule that eliminates the use of the de minimis exemption for reporting of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

The Emergency Planning Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use TRI listed chemicals to report their environmental release and other waste management quantities of TRI chemicals annually. For chemicals that are not "of special concern," there is a reporting exemption that allows facilities to avoid reporting if they handle de minimis quantities of a TRI listed chemical.