EPA's Latest CERCLA Action on PFAS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 12, 2023, released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public input and data to assist in the consideration of potential development of future regulations pertaining to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The ANPRM is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2023.
This ANPRM is in addition to the EPA's pending Proposed Rule to designate Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) as Hazardous Substances under the CERCLA published in the Federal Register on Sept. 6, 2022, which is expected to be finalized in the coming months.
Specifically, through this ANPRM, the EPA is seeking data and comment on development of future CERCLA regulations related to:
1. Seven specified PFAS and their salts and structural isomers, or some subset thereof, which include:
- Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), CASRN 375-73-5
- Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), CASRN 355-46-4
- Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), CASRN 375-95-1
- Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), CASRN 13252-13-6 (sometimes called GenX)
- Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) CASRN 375-22-4
- Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) CASRN 307-24-4
- Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) CASRN 335-76-2
2. Precursors to PFOA, PFOS and other PFAS listed above, and
3. Categories of PFAS
The EPA is seeking additional information about these substances to supplement the data in its CompTox Chemicals Dashboard and to determine whether to initiate future action with respect to these substances, including potentially designating some or all of the compounds as Hazardous Substances under CERCLA. Comments will be accepted for 60 days following publication at Regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0922.