EPA Seeks To Regulate Nine PFAS As Hazardous Constituents

On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) published two proposed rules in the Federal Register that, if adopted, would list nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as "hazardous constituents" under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and expand the agency's ability to address these PFAS in RCRA corrective actions. These rules originate from a petition submitted by the Governor of New Mexico in 2021 asking the U.S. EPA to regulate PFAS and from the U.S. EPA's commitment to address PFAS under RCRA in the U.S. EPA Strategic PFAS Roadmap issued in 2021.

PFAS Listing Proposal

The first proposal seeks to add nine PFAS, their salts, and their structural isomers to the U.S. EPA's list of hazardous constituents in 40 C.F.R. Part 261 Appendix VIII.¹ Placement on this list serves as one of the criteria for determining whether a solid waste is a hazardous waste. Thus, while the proposed rule does not list the nine specific