EPA Updates List of PFAS Subject to TRI Reporting

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 was signed into law on December 20, 2019. Section 7321 of the NDAA added certain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) subject to TRI reporting as of January 1, 2020, with TRI reporting forms due by July 1, 2021.

On February 19, 2020, EPA published an updated list of PFAS added to the TRI by the NDAA. This updated list contains 172 PFAS. The prior version contained 160 PFAS. Twelve PFAS were removed from the prior list and twenty-four PFAS were added following review of the previous list and in response to comments from stakeholders during the public comment period.

According to EPA's TRI website, the 24 additional PFAS were included because (1) their structure meets the PFAS category definition provided by 40 CFR 721.10536 or (2) though the name of the PFAS does not indicate a specific chain length, its chain length could fit within a definition provided by 721.10536.

The NDAA established a manufacture, processing, and otherwise use reporting threshold of 100 pounds for each of the listed PFAS. EPA will revise the Emergency Planing and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 list of reportable chemicals in 40 CFR 372.65 to include the 172 PFAS added by the NDAA.

The EPA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on December 4, 2019, requesting comment on which, if any, PFAS should be evaluated for listing, how to list them, and what would be appropriate reporting thresholds given their persistence and bioaccumulation potential. The public comment period closed on February3, 2020.