Exemptions Likely For The TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule

Now under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is a draft proposed rule that could dramatically reduce the scope of the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Reporting Rule under Section 8(a)(7) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). While the text of the proposal is as of yet unavailable, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hinted that the proposed rule would add exemptions common in other TSCA reporting rules but absent from this one. The impact could be substantial.

The TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule, 40 C.F.R. Part 705, requires persons who manufactured PFAS between 2011 and 2022, or who imported PFAS in any amount during that period (even in articles), to submit detailed information to EPA. The Rule includes essentially no exemptions – not for imported articles, research and development, impurities, byproducts, or small manufacturers. Other TSCA reporting rules have such exemptions, including the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule,